Medicine is not health care, food is health care: Plant metabolic engineering, diet and human health

A diet consisting of a wide range of plant matter is optimal for human heath, but due to various historical and social factors (including the relatively high cost of fresh fruit and vegetables), many people don’t get the nutrients they need. Biofortification of staple foods like rice through breeding or genetic engineering provides one strategy to remedy this deficit. Martin and Li review the health benefits of various vitamins and phytonutrients (e.g., polyunsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols), their biosynthetic pathway in plants, and efforts to enhance their content in foods.  New Phytol. 10.1111/nph.14730