One group in the UK hopes so. Rothamsted Research, a sustainable agriculture center, has successfully bred a plant that produces seeds with high levels of omega-3s—the kind found in oily fish. Some plants and seeds produce omega-3s naturally, like chia, flax, and hemp. But the kind they produce is a short-chain omega-3 called ALA, which isn’t absorbed as well in the body as the long-chain kind found in fish. The research group’s genetically modified Camelina plant would produce EPA and DHA, the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids found only in fish and marine mammals. Eating oily fish like salmon and mackerel, or taking fish oil supplements, are great ways of getting long-chain omega-3s. But the long-term availability of this long-chain nutrient may be in limbo: About 80% of fish oil produced in 2011 went into fish feed (farmed fish need to be supplemented with omega-3s to be as healthy as their wild counterparts), and overfishing may become a problem for omega-3 security. That’s why Rothamsted Research wants to develop new plant-based sources. They’re not the only ones shining up the nutritional profiles of plants in the name of sustainability. A European group is currently developing a purple tomato with boosted levels of anthocyanin antioxidants, says Bhimu Patil, PhD, director of the Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center at Texas A&M University. Dr. Patil’s team recently developed maroon carrots, with higher levels of anthocyanins and beta-carotene, through conventional breeding. Nutritional improvement like this may be necessary if we hope to feed the 9 billion people that will inhabit the planet by 2050. “We all talk about food security, but we forget about nutritional security,” Dr. Patil says. “If we do not provide the appropriate amount to the human body, we may be keeping people alive, but they’re undernourished.” This is why GMO breeding may be embraced in the future instead of maligned. “If you really think about feeding the world in the future, we need to have all three methods of breeding: conventional, GMO, and organic,” says Dr. Patil. “If you just depend on only conventional or organic, with the current research now, we may not be able to feed the world sustainably.” More from Prevention: Are Your Omega-3 Supplements Labeled Wrong?
