Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 27, 2015)
12 CapitalPress.com November 27, 2015 Cultural practices on farms can boost antioxidants FOOD from Page 1 “In the past, I’d say (nu- trition) was completely ig- nored, and now I’d say it’s growing in importance in va- riety selection and consumer selection,” said David Gom- bas, with United Fresh Pro- duce Association. The nutrition trend’s po- tential remains to be seen, but Gombas believes he’s noticed a growing emphasis on healthier fresh products during the past five years. “It’s a big ship to turn,” Gombas said. “But in the next five years, I think you’re going to see branding of fruits and vegetables for their high nutrient content.” Gombas believes growth in the organic and GMO-free sectors, perceived by some consumers to be healthier op- tions, are indicators that the timing is right to breed for nutrition. As for the need for fresh foods with enhanced nutri- tion, scientists note Ameri- cans face an obesity crisis, but aren’t necessarily meet- ing dietary goals. It’s esti- mated less than 5 percent of Americans meet their daily recommended allowance of potassium, for example. Courtesy of OSU Oregon State University barley breeder Pat Hayes has been work- ing for about a decade to breed food barley varieties with higher amounts of beta-glucan, a heart-healthy fiber. John O’Connell/Capital Press Organic food, including multi-colored carrots marketed for greater nutrition, fills the shelves of the Pocatello Co-op in southeast Idaho. Some food industry officials say the growth in the organic market demonstrates that consumers are demanding foods bred for enhanced nutrition. Failure to launch Researchers cite a myriad of reasons why enhancing nutrition hasn’t thus far been a necessity in the fresh food industry. Hayes points out that nu- trition is complex, and soci- ety’s understanding of which attributes are desirable, and the appropriate doses, is con- stantly evolving. “Unfortunately, nutrition has been an expensive and shifting target,” Hayes said. Hayes also notes fruits and vegetables generally al- ready do a good job of deliv- ering nutrition and promoting a balanced diet may be a sim- pler path for the industry than developing “super foods.” Hayes’ colleague at OSU, vegetable breeder Jim Myers, warns produce could essen- tially evolve into pharmaceu- tical products, with similar side effects. Myers, however, acknowledges the industry has ample room to improve nutrition before reaching that point. “I think there is some growing trend to recognize that nutrition is important and you can breed for it,” Myers said. “Right now, I think that type of breeding is happening in smaller companies or pub- lic breeding programs, such as mine.” Myers sees greater po- tential for nutrient-enhanced varieties in the fresh market than in the processed market, which values uniformity. In 2011, Myers’ program released Indigo Rose, a pur- ple tomato variety high in an- thocyanin — a pigment with anti-inflammatory, antioxi- dant and antibacterial prop- erties not normally found in abundance in tomatoes. The variety also had high fruit-rot resistance. Myers pitched Indigo Rose to California processed tomato growers, who reject- ed it as too unusual. Home gardeners comprise the cur- rent market for Indigo Rose. Mike Thornton, super- intendent of University of Sean Ellis/Capital Press Idaho State University researcher Mike Thornton cuts open a new potato selection from the universi- ty’s breeding program that researchers hope is high in beneficial nutrients. Idaho’s Parma Research & Extension Center, sees logis- tical challenges in awarding an enhanced-nutrition pre- mium in commodity crops, which are typically commin- gled. Labeling would also create problems, as nutrition facts generally represent a composite for a class, such as potatoes, rather than spe- cific data from a given va- riety raised in a specific re- gion during a certain season, Thornton said. Victor Raboy, a research geneticist with USDA’s Ag- ricultural Research Service in Aberdeen, Idaho, believes the potential for a yield hit is the main reason why breed- ing for nutrition has “taken a back seat.” “Many nutritional-quality traits are negatively correlat- ed with yield and productiv- ity,” Raboy said. Raboy isolated the first gene expressing low phytic acid in corn and barley. Phyt- ic acid can’t be digested, but it’s known to bond with zinc and iron in the intestinal tract, often contributing to mineral deficiencies. Ani- mals fed low-phytate seed also seem to enjoy a health boost. Yet the product has found no market. “A farmer is not going to grow low phytic acid corn if they’re getting 5 to 10 percent less yield, because they’re getting paid for corn,” Raboy said. “The low phytic acid corn is so much more nutritious, but there’s less yield.” Meat and potatoes Thornton and Roy Na- varre, a research geneticist with the Prosser, Wash., US- DA-ARS facility, have been central in the effort to step up nutrition in potatoes. The researchers are start- ing the third year of a proj- ect funded by the Oregon, Washington and Idaho po- tato commissions to evalu- ate advanced breeding lines from the states for key vi- tamins and nutrients, such as zinc, iron, vitamin C, B vitamins and antioxidants. They’re also evaluating how growing locations and con- ditions affect nutrients. One new potato variety, Targhee Russet, has been consistently high in vitamin C, though Thornton admits yield, resistance and tuber quality were the main driv- ers behind its release. Thornton explained col- orful spuds are often the most nutritious, as their pig- ments are high in antioxi- dants. They’ve found cultural practices on farms can also boost antioxidants. Heavi- er soils with a lot of organic matter, for example, tend to yield more colorful and an- tioxidant-rich spuds. They’re also experimenting with growth regulators to produce smaller spuds, concentrating antioxidants. Thornton has worked with a few companies, such as Wisconsin-based Tasteful Selections, that have special- ized in small, colorful spuds for enhanced nutrition. “Within the last five years, I would say there’s been a lot more of this research going on,” Thornton said. Bernie Hansen, found- er of Kansas-based NBO3, markets fresh meat, eggs and dairy products with ele- vated levels of heart-healthy Omega 3 fatty acids. He buys enriched Omega 3 milk from dairies willing to feed their cattle a special flax-heavy diet. Most of the dairies re- port improved animal health, Hansen said. He also buys back dairy cows once they’re past their prime, marketing the meat at a premium as Great-O beef. A few months ago, USDA granted Hansen the right to make a health claim with his beef. Hansen argues improv- ing nutrition is the food in- dustry’s responsibility and should be the norm rather relegated to a niche market. “Having healthier food shouldn’t just be for people who have more expendable cash,” Hansen said. Kansas State University economics professor Sean Fox has studied consumer response to Great-O prod- ucts. He’s found consum- ers are willing to pay about $1.85 per pound extra for Omega 3-enhanced steak, about the same premium en- joyed by steak marketed as locally produced or guaran- teed-tender. “That gives me a sense of how big a market segment there might be for Omega 3 enrichment — similar to the locavore market, which is still relatively small,” Fox said. Big ag and nutrition Often, it takes govern- ment intervention for en- hanced nutritional crops to gain a foothold. Raboy recalled a corn mutation discovered years ago by his post-doctoral ad- viser, elevating levels of ly- sine, an essential amino acid with antiviral properties. “There was huge excite- ment about it, and then huge disappointment because it wasn’t going anywhere,” Raboy said. Though abandoned in the United States, research on the lysine corn mutation continues in Mexico, where the government has stepped in to address a general lysine deficiency among its popu- lation. Government influence is also behind an ongoing ef- fort in the United States to develop new soybean variet- ies with healthier fats. To increase the shelf-life of soy cooking oil, the in- dustry has been treating it with hydrogen gas. These partially hydrogenated oils create unhealthy trans fats DOE to announce proposal early next year RULES from Page 1 Also, DOE likely will bow to the economic reality that the re- quirements would be too expen- sive for smaller dairies, Susewind said. Susewind estimated DOE could exempt about one-quarter of the state’s smallest dairies and still reg- ulate the vast majority of cows. DOE hasn’t defined “small dairy.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies a dairy with fewer than 200 mature cows a small confined animal feeding op- eration. Environmental groups sup- ported DOE’s earlier assumption that clay-lined lagoons automat- ically lead to groundwater pol- lution. If the DOE softens that stance, it should require regular groundwater tests around la- goons, Puget Soundkeeper Alli- ance lobbyist Bruce Wishart said. “There is one direction the pollutants are going, and it’s downward,” he said. “The ques- tion is how long it takes to get” to groundwater. DOE contends that the only way to prevent leaking is to double line the lagoon with wa- tertight material and install a leak-detection system between the layers. As proof, DOE cites on-the-ground studies and Dar- cy’s law, a fundamental rule of hydrology. The dairy industry argues that such liners would be cost-prohib- itive and do little to protect the environment. It contends that seeping manure may contaminate soil immediately beneath the la- goon, but it’s an unscientific leap to then assume the pollution au- tomatically reaches groundwater. DOE’s proposed rules also would place new restrictions on how near to ditches manure could be spread and require a sharp increase in soil testing to guard against applying too much ma- nure. DOE plans to announce a for- mal proposal early next year and have a final rule in place by mid- year. Under the October proposal, 450 to 500 dairies would face an “additional innumerable volume of requirements,” Gordon said. Thurston County dairyman Chris Doelman told the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resourc- es Committee that he wants to continue his family’s 50-year business, but said DOE’s propos- al was “discouraging.” “I want to dairy farm, and I know I can do it environmental- ly (sound),” he said. “With this looming out there as a potential, I might not be able to.” Soil testing and buffers loom as major issues, but manure la- goons have been the main point of contention so far between DOE and the dairy industry. Senate Agricultural and Nat- ural Resources Chairman Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, said she called for Friday’s meeting after attending a dinner at the dairy federation’s annual convention. “Our entire conversation that eve- ning was about cow manure,” she said. Lawmakers questioned Suse- wind, but have no direct control over the outcome. DOE is acting administratively, citing its au- thority under state law and feder- al Clean Water Act. as a byproduct. In 2003, the government mandated labeling of trans fats. Early this year, the government re- moved the “generally recog- nized as safe” status of par- tially hydrogenated fats. Kristin Bilyeu, a US- DA-ARS research molecular biologist in Columbia, Miss., has been conventionally breeding for soy higher in oleic acid — a healthier fat also found in olive oil. She’s managed to shift oleic acid content in soy from 25 per- cent to 80 percent. Pioneer and Monsanto have also been working on healthier soybeans. A Monsanto spokesman said the company’s Vistive Gold soybean is closest to commercialization and is undergoing trials in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. He said it provides stable oil without hydrogenation, with no trans fats and less saturated fat, while also delivering higher yields. Developed through ge- netic engineering, the line is scheduled for release in 2016. Monsanto also has a soy- bean containing elevated Omega 3 fatty acids in the advanced stages of develop- ment. J.R. Simplot Co. spokes- man Doug Cole believes the industry has experienced a “new wave of products that have health benefits direct for consumers.” Nonetheless, consum- er research tells Simplot, a major processor of potatoes, the public is more concerned about reducing food waste. Cole said Simplot has experimented with beta-car- otene enrichment, but “it remains to be seen whether we’ll commercialize that.” “The technology exists to increase levels of other vita- mins, and Simplot is investi- gating that,” Cole said. Rainfall accounts for 30 percent of water needs of Oregon crops WATER from Page 1 which the state would experience a range of temperature increases and changes in precipitation, she said. A full report on Oregon’s anticipat- ed water needs in 2050 is undergoing final editing and will soon be made public, she said. OWRD is also planning to address growing water demand by assisting with feasibility studies and other plans for water supply development, Lovell- ford said. Earlier this year, the Oregon legis- lature authorized roughly $55 million in water supply development loans and grants.