They’re planting seeds-in Jellen’s case, literally-in the hope that their efforts will eventually bear the fruit of sustainable, localizable ways to address nutrient deficiency and feed a hungry world. But throw climate change into the mix- with farmland and staple crops threatened by drought, increasing temperatures, and rising sea levels-and it’s critical to look for creative approaches to addressing hunger at home and abroad.īYU researchers across campus are doing just that. “If we are able to produce quinoa, then we can save the next generation from falling through the cracks of malnutrition.” -Joan Perryįood and nutrient scarcity are not new challenges. Nutrient deficiencies can lead to severe health problems-from low birth weights and short stature to cognitive impairment, diabetes, hypertension, rickets, and blindness. Even in the United States, food deserts-areas where it is difficult to access affordable food-make it hard for those experiencing poverty to get adequate nutrition. “It fills their bellies, but they’re starving for protein” and essential nutrients like iron, vitamin K, and B vitamins. These staples are “vitamin and protein deficient,” explains Jellen. In the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, it’s rice.

Tropical countries, he says, rely on starchy foods like yuca and cocoyam. “You see those deficiencies in the developing world,” Jellen says. Hunger in today’s world isn’t always about a lack of calories often, it’s a lack of nutrients. That tiny grain, it turns out, just might be a viable solution to alleviating hunger in Guyana and around the world. The Guyanese agricultural ministry eventually agreed to a feasibility study of the BYU seeds. His team was the first to map the quinoa genome, and they were elbows deep in crossing domesticated quinoa with wild varieties to create drought-hardy hybrids that could grow across the globe. Perry’s research and prayers led her to BYU’s Eric N. The tropical nation, located on the continent’s northeastern shore, was home to saltier soil and lower elevation than the grain’s native Andes habitat. Perry wanted to use her portion to do good in the world, and when a colleague suggested planting quinoa, she felt inspiration from God.īut when Perry approached the Guyanese agricultural ministry about importing seeds, she was almost laughed away. Those tiny seeds became so much more to her in 2014, when Perry and her nine siblings inherited 350 acres of farmland in Guyana. Perry, a native of the South American country of Guyana who came to the US as a teenager, added the hardy seeds to her salads because they fit the plant-based diet embraced by her Seventh-day Adventist faith.

Like most of us, Perry hadn’t even heard of quinoa until the 2010s, when the tiny round grain trended as a “superfood” packed with protein and vitamins. When New Jersey school teacher Joan Perry saw tiny green quinoa shoots sprouting in the salty, sandy soils of Guyana, it was a miracle-and she knew it.

Rusty bellies