Oklahoma State University’s Dr. Brett Carver is among 53 researchers who worked with the Foundation for Innovation in Healthy Food (FIHF) on research exploring how agriculture can help improve public health.
The paper, “Toward an Emerging Public Health Paradigm: Agriculture and Food Production for Health,” examines how increasing the nutritional value of staple foods, beginning with higher-fiber wheat, could help reduce the risk of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer.
OSU has been breeding wheat for increased fiber since 2012 and has contributed its expertise and wheat germplasm to the FIHF research effort.
“Multiple genetic factors exist in wheat to bring about positive change in its fiber composition. We had already started down the path of breeding for increased wheat fiber as of 2012. It was an easy decision to merge our efforts with the broader research community and find that common ground,” said Carver.
The research represents a simple but potentially powerful shift: making the foods people already eat healthier, rather than relying solely on changing what people eat.