Affordable plant-based foods - Role in nutrition and sustainability

Prof. Henry highlighted the need for affordable and nutritious diets that today are not affordable for more than 3 billion people. He reminded the audience that meeting energy needs is the first goal to achieve and that affordable nutrition needs to address the inverse relationship between energy density and nutrient density. This situation may be addressed by leveraging the so-called under-utilized crops such as millet or teff which are good options to provide calories and (micro-)nutrients at the same time. Additionally, they may be more climate resilient than other staple crops, e.g. millet which can grow in quite dry areas. Plant based alternatives to animal based products may today not be affordable and food technology may help to develop affordable and nutritious products while also addressing planetary health.