The Need
Food is at the center of the world’s most urgent challenges and largest opportunities. According to the World Health Organization, malnutrition is the leading cause of death and disease globally. In fact, there is a “triple burden” of malnutrition at all levels of the population:
- Undernutrition: The lack of food and/or access to it.
- Overnutrition: The consumption of too many calories.
- Poor nutrition: Not the right nutritional content (vitamin and mineral deficiencies).
Our scientific understanding of the foods that nourish us is still rudimentary. At most, 150 of food’s biochemical components are measured and tracked in conventional databases, which only represents a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands of biochemicals in food. Beyond health, we also know today’s food production negatively impacts the quality of our water, soil, and air, and contributes to climate change. A food system that supports human and planetary health requires a better understanding of the interactions between food, health, nutrition, and environment.
Proposed Solution:
A Periodic Table of Food
Our Approach
The PTFI is a collaborative effort that will enable conditions for rapid acceleration in research and innovation.
Our Impact
The PTFI will help address issues such as allergies, biodiversity loss, disease, childhood malnutrition, declining soil health, and more.