The Coalition for Grain Fiber (CGF), established in 2022 by the Foundation for Innovation in Healthy Food (FIHF), is dedicated to revolutionizing the food supply chain by increasing the dietary fiber content of wheat, the most consumed grain in the U.S. By improving the nutritional content of white and whole wheat flour, it seeks to save thousands of lives and dramatically reduce healthcare costs. Working with USDA-ARS, United Kingdom Biotechnology and Biological Sciences strategic research program Delivering Sustainable Wheat, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) CIMMYT, universities, and industry leaders, our mission is to enhance the nutritional value of wheat (a non-GMO crop)—delivering better health outcomes without raising retail prices or changing food choices.
The FIHF collaborates with communities, healthcare organizations, and food supply chain stakeholders to boost the fiber content in everyday grain-based foods. By harnessing scientific innovation and aligning market and policy incentives, we make high-fiber wheat widely accessible—without asking consumers to change their habits. This strategy enhances public health, empowers growers, and fosters a more sustainable food system.
The Coalition for Grain Fiber employs a unique strategy built on collaboration, commercialization, and community engagement. The key is supporting economic innovations that bridge the gap between public health and agriculture, allowing those who receive value from public health to fund investments by those who can supply commodities with improved nutritional quality and to capture this opportunity. By aligning incentives for all stakeholders, we deliver solutions that benefit society as a whole.
We enhance wheat’s fiber content while maintaining its taste, texture, and affordability—ensuring seamless consumer adoption.
From researchers to policymakers and industry leaders, we unite stakeholders to integrate high-fiber wheat into the food system. Financial incentives based on market forces and policies are funded by reduction in healthcare expenditures.
By scaling fiber intake, we help prevent chronic diseases, lower healthcare costs, and reduce environmental strain.
Grains, particularly wheat, play a crucial role in delivering dietary fiber, which reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions while improving gut health. However, over 95% of Americans consume less fiber than recommended, a deficiency mirrored in many other countries.
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines identifies fiber as an “under-consumed nutrient of concern.” By incorporating higher-fiber grains into everyday foods, we aim to save thousands of lives, reducing billions in healthcare costs annually. We also support mitigating climate change by decreasing healthcare interventions, which contribute 10% of U.S. carbon emissions.
CGF has pioneered efforts to boost dietary fiber through natural genetic variations in commercial wheat. By integrating higher-fiber wheat varieties from existing breeding programs, we’re taking immediate steps to improve nutrient levels in widely consumed foods. This strategy ensures health benefits are accessible to all, regardless of socioeconomic status.
Recognizing that U.S. healthcare spending on heart disease and type 2 diabetes is 50 times the value of the annual U.S. wheat crop, the Coalition focuses on leveraging wheat’s affordability to deliver outsized health impacts. Even modest improvements in wheat nutrients can yield substantial benefits by reducing chronic disease.
To make this transformation sustainable, CGF is targeting market- and policy-based approaches that incentivize growers to produce higher-fiber wheat. By aligning agricultural goals with public health objectives, this effort allows farmers to benefit financially while helping reduce healthcare costs for consumers and governments.
The Coalition unites 80 scientists and practitioners across 25 states and five countries. Integrated research is underway across plant breeding, food science, nutrition and health impact, and socioeconomics. This diverse team brings together expertise in agriculture, nutrition, and economics to create scalable, science-backed solutions. By fostering collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders, CGF has laid the groundwork for meaningful and lasting change.
CGF’s initiatives focus on increasing daily fiber intake to combat chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and gut cancer. By focusing on wheat—a non-GMO crop with universal reach—we achieve broad health impacts with minimal disruption to consumer habits.
By improving the nutritional quality of staple grains, the Coalition contributes to a sustainable food system that supports healthier lives, reduces healthcare costs, and provides environmental benefits by decreasing healthcare-related carbon emissions.
CGF bridges the gap between rural growers and urban consumers, fostering a shared commitment to better health and sustainability. By leveraging one of the world’s most important crops, the Coalition is creating a future where nutritious, affordable, and widely accessible foods improve lives on a global scale.
The Coalition for Grain Fiber demonstrates how targeted agricultural innovation can solve critical public health challenges at scale. By uniting science, policy, and market forces, we’re doing more than revolutionizing wheat—we’re creating a blueprint to address global nutrition and sustainability needs.
As FIHF continues its mission to improve health and sustainability through food innovation, we are actively assessing areas where we can expand impact. Follow-on initiatives will be easier to implement and with greater benefits than may be expected. Several foods are consumed by virtually everyone several times a day:
Financial incentives based on proven market strategies and public policies.
These top foods include: corn, wheat, rice, chicken, beef, pork, dairy, tomatoes, potatoes, and lettuce. Existing research on opportunities to enhance the nutrition of each of these foods provides an exciting foundation for follow-on efforts. These areas are currently under evaluation for feasibility, partnerships, and implementation pathways.
FIHF leads targeted programs to address critical challenges in food and health systems:
