Diversifying food production in response to the growing global population, changing diets, increasing urbanization, rising malnutrition, climate change and economic shocks has magnified the importance of alternative grains such as teff, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, and millet.
With the global population set to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, the pressure on agrifood systems to nourish the world has never been higher, while at same time staying within planetary boundaries. Today, consumer behaviors are shifting in response to a multitude of factors, such as climate change, a focus on improving health, concerns about the impact of food production on environmental sustainability, rising incomes, among many others. These shifts are driving changes in the food purchasing and consumption habits of consumers. New food sources and food production systems are increasingly being explored with the goal of achieving improved environmental sustainability and nutritional benefits.
Consumers are conscious of the environmental and nutritional benefits of foods. They are now more focused on creating healthier lifestyles and gaining proper eating habits. In this regard, alternative grains are becoming a current trend in human diets. They are a good source of starch, fiber, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals.
Global food security is largely dependent on three cereals: wheat, rice and maize, which provide at least 40% of the world calories altogether. Wheat is the most traded cereal on international markets and its share in global food trade is still expanding. Notably, developing countries account for nearly 80% of all wheat imports with Egypt, Indonesia, Algeria, Brazil and the Philippines being among the top importers. To solve the food crisis and to achieve the Zero Hunger target, it is critical to implement industrial food transformations to reduce reliance on wheat.
In the baking industry, there is a trend toward fortifying or completely substituting wheat flour with nutrient-rich ingredients to produce health-enhancing or functional breads, such as high-protein, high-fibre, low-glycaemic-index carbohydrates and bioactive ingredient-intensive products. Within this framework, research has highlighted several wheat substitutes, including legumes, gluten-free cereals (e.g. sorghum, millets, oat) and pseudo-cereals (e.g. amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa).
Wholegrain pseudo-cereals, such as buckwheat, amaranth and quinoa; starchy roots, such as cassava; and minor cereals, such as sorghum and millets, have had a fundamental role in human civilization but remain largely underutilized in current diets. These crops offer the advantage of tolerating drought and adapting to tropical climates where wheat cultivation does not thrive well. Currently, these crops are mostly used in localized trade and household consumption. Their industrial utilization, such as in bread making, is still limited due to the challenges in processing technologies. Promoting the industrial application of these indigenous crops may contribute to the economic advancement of developing countries through the saving of foreign exchange on wheat importation and the development of the local agriculture sector. Additionally, these crops have potential use in designing nutraceutical and functional foods with health benefits.
GROWING DEMAND FOR GLUTEN-FREE PRODUCTS
With the rising number of celiac diseases and increasing awareness of the importance of a healthy diet, the consumer demand for options that are gluten-free, low in sugar, and generally nutritious is higher than ever. Despite this growing interest in healthy foods, however, consumers may still find the existing selection very limited. To address this issue, Sean Liu, research leader in the Functional Foods Research Unit in Peoria, Illinois, United States, and his team explored new ways to elevate the nutritional value of the average consumer’s diet. In their research, they discovered that alternative grains could be the key to making foods both healthy and tasty.
“The term ‘alternative grains’ is a bit misleading,” said Liu. “Alternative grains are foods that can replace any of the three major grains: wheat, corn, and rice. These substitutes don’t have to be grains themselves; they can be legumes and seeds as well. For example, we have used amaranth to develop foods like gluten-free cookies and pasta noodles. Our goal is to see if we can successfully add nutritional value by simply changing some of the ingredients in foods.”
To test their theory, Liu and his team investigated popular food products and replaced some of the ingredients with ones derived from alternative grains. Throughout their trials, they found that the biggest challenge was finding healthy replacements that did not substantially change the functionality or sensory profile of the finished food. For example, although amaranth did impart a slightly nutty flavor and a yellowish color, its texture in flour form – if milled to a similar fineness as wheat flour – produced outcomes that did not differ much from regular wheat-based foods.
“We have to consider what consumers and food producers prioritize – taste, texture, shelf-life, appearance,” Liu explained. “Some substitutions can result in a change of viscosity (thickness or stickiness) that causes the food to be difficult or even impossible to produce. Others might cause an unappealing color or mouthfeel, which can, unfortunately, discourage people from consuming a ‘healthified’ food made with alternative grains.”
Liu and his team specifically targeted foods made with corn- or wheat-based ingredients, like the cakes and cookies sold in grocery stores, because such foods were high in both calories and refined carbohydrates. This combination increases the risk of obesity and erratic blood sugar levels, which can stimulate the early onset of diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes.
On the other hand, many alternatives to corn and wheat are both gluten-free and rich in helpful nutrients that people need to stay healthy. Liu and his team have identified and evaluated the following alternative grains as promising superfoods:
Amaranth: A gluten-free pseudocereal that is rich in protein, fiber, antioxidants, and manganese, which is important for brain function.
Chia: A gluten-free and low-calorie seed that offers omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and important vitamins like B1 and B2
Sorghum: A gluten-free grain that is high in protein, vitamins, antioxidants, and versatility
Many of these healthy alternative grains are already available in many specialty stores, but Liu hopes they will become more mainstream as people become aware of their nutritional value and additional benefits. “Some alternative grain crops are naturally advantageous for farmers too. Many are relatively drought resistant and may require fewer resources than corn or wheat. For example, sorghum plants offer those characteristics plus natural pest resistance, soil enrichment, and potential biofuel production,” Liu said. “Ultimately, alternative grains can make both us and the planet healthier.”
Improving the climate resilience of crops is crucial to the future food and nutritional security of the world. More than 2 billion people that depend on major staple crops such as wheat, maize, and rice are suffering from “hidden hunger,” which has resulted in either malnutrition, due to deficiency of minerals, vitamins, and essential amino acids, or obesity, due to the surfeit of energy-rich carbohydrates. All of these major cereals are unable to tolerate climatic aberrations and marginality because of significant abiotic stresses. The need of the hour is to identify the crops and their varieties that can offer robust resistance against the harsh conditions of marginal environments and sustain food and nutritional security. Indeed, the targets for both globally healthy diets and sustained food production have to be met for 10 billion people on this planet by 2050. Several underused “neglected crops” are considered as “minor crops” and have received less importance globally in terms of both production and research. Alternative grains such as millet, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, and amaranth are nutrient-dense and are rich sources of macro- and micro-elements. Small amounts of minor millets and pseudo-cereals in the daily diet of people can ensure “no malnutrition.”
Apart from being nutritionally rich, these underused crops are climate-resilient and suitable for cultivation in marginal environments. These neglected crops have huge potential for food and nutritional security through sustainable agriculture in marginal areas. This will help farmers to maintain productivity against a backdrop of rising temperatures, higher salinity, and increasing water scarcity and provide a practical and sustainable way of adapting to climate change. Unfortunately, the depth of research on the yield and quality improvement and also the processing of these alternative grains is extremely inadequate vis-à-vis that on the major staples.
International Year of Millets
As the global agrifood systems face challenges to feed an ever-growing global population, resilient cereals like millets provide an affordable and nutritious option, and efforts need to be scaled-up to promote their cultivation. This was the message at the opening ceremony of the International Year of Millets 2023 (IYM) at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Millets encompass a diverse group of cereals including pearl, proso, foxtail, barnyard, little, kodo, browntop, finger and Guinea millets, as well as fonio, sorghum (or great millet) and teff. They are an important source of nourishment for millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. They are deeply rooted in Indigenous Peoples’ culture and traditions and help guarantee food security in areas where they are culturally relevant.
“Millets are incredible ancestral crops with high nutritional value. Millets can play an important role and contribute to our collective efforts to empower smallholder farmers, achieve sustainable development, eliminate hunger, adapt to climate change, promote biodiversity, and transform agrifood systems,” FAO Director-General QU Dongyu told participants at the hybrid event.
Greater millet production can support the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and can provide decent jobs for women and youth. The revenue created can boost economic growth. With the possibility of a health cereal alternative with millets, the risks associated with production shocks can be mitigated.
The IYM 2023 and the push towards increasing millet production will contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. “This International Year is a timely reminder of this important crop. And it provides a unique opportunity to raise awareness of, and to direct policy attention to the nutritional and health benefits of millet consumption, the suitability of millets for cultivation under adverse and changing climatic conditions and creating sustainable and innovative market opportunities for many countries around the work for millets to benefit farmers and consumers globally,” Director-General Qu told the audience.
IYM 2023 hopes to galvanise interest in millets among various stakeholders like farmers, the youth and civil society and push governments and policy makers to priorities the production and trade in these cereals.