PLANTING HEALTH - Promoting Long-lasting Agriculture and NutriTional quality from field to food processING for planetary and human HEALTH

The agrifood sector faces significant challenges in maintaining the (micro)nutrient quality of crops and their efficient utilization in food products. This is critical when addressing nutrient deficiency, especially with the shift toward plant-forward diets. International research highlights a concerning trend: the nutrient content in crops has decreased over the past years, possibly due to intensive agricultural practices and prevailing crop breeding strategies that often overlook the critical role of soil health and soil-crop interaction, which influences the nutrient quality of crops through soil nutrients and microbiome.
The preliminary results from a Van Hall Larenstein pilot study with oats suggest that pesticides may not only affect the nutrient content of crops but also impact crop nutrient digestibility. Furthermore, crop ultra-processing into food products may aggravate nutrient loss, leading to calorie-dense but nutrient-poor foods. The professional field urges for an integrated approach to ensure crops and food with optimal nutrient content and bioavailability for better planetary and human health.
Therefore, the main research question of this project is: What is the impact of pesticide use on crop nutrient content and bioavailability, and how do current food production methods affect food nutritional quality? The research will focus on two showcases, beans and oats. We will explore how pesticides affect the soil and crop microbiome, metabolome, nutrient density, and bioavailability. Using the in vitro digestion model tiny-TIM, we will test the bioavailability of nutrients in foods prepared at various processing levels. We will investigate whether whole food ingredients can retain nutrient content while enhancing plant-based foods’ bioavailability. The findings will promote consumer awareness and business models for farmers, with the concept "nutrients per hectare”. Using this integrated approach, we aim to support the agrifood sector in transitioning towards healthy soils and healthy people.