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Plant biotechnology - from concept to human health and
nutrition
Wilhelm Gruissem
Deputy Head of Department of
Biotechnology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Plant biotechnology can make important contributions to
food security and nutritional improvement. For example,
the development of “Golden Rice”
is a milestone in the application of gene technology to
deliver both increased nutritional qualities and health
improvement to broad segments of the human population.
Mineral nutrient and protein deficiency as well as food
security remain as the most important challenges for
developing countries (and surprisingly, for several
European countries).
The presentation will review current developments in
biotechnology-assisted plant improvement and discuss its
potential for human nutrition and health using the two
major staple crops cassava and rice as examples.
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