The Wire

More than two billion people around the world don’t get enough essential vitamins and minerals. These micronutrient deficiencies, also known as ‘hidden hunger’, are the leading causes of easily preventable deaths. Scientists have developed a way to increase the number of critical vitamins and minerals in food crops through a method called biofortification, where grains are enriched with nutrients through breeding. These modified grains have been used in developing countries to enrich the local staple grain, as a way to balance the diets of those who could not otherwise afford it.