Online undergraduate education in biotechnology for nutrition security: USDA-CSREES-ISE funded curricular development includes research in enhancing nutrition in fruits and vegetables for human health

Student engagement in food and agricultural sciences as part of their education is vital at a time when the food and nutrition security has evolved to be a global concern. Towards this end it is important to create academic courses that can be offered to students for mere content in the current topics or as a means to get them interested in food and agricultural sciences to pursue a career in nutrition and dietetics. A justification for the inclusion of current research in enhancing fruits and vegetables in an online undergraduate natural sciences curriculum for majors and non-majors is presented. A new course BIO 414 Biotechnology for Food and Nutrition Security includes international content from world organizations such as the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC). These international organizations have strengthened their collaboration to improve crop diversity for farmers, as vegetable and fruit cultivation offer great scope for crop diversification for increased income to farmers. Nutritional security, diet diversification and human health is one of the AVRDC's major focus research themes that aims to improve nutrition and health of rural and urban populations by increased consumption of vegetables, while harnessing biotechnology for the human benefit is a major theme of the ICRISAT that practices science with a human face in all its programs. The course content has an emphasis on nutritionally enhanced produce that can offer increased levels of nutrients, vitamins and other healthful phytochemicals and naturally occurring bio-active compounds in fruits and vegetables. A major benefit in nutrition enhancement of fruits and vegetables is in helping developing nations meet basic dietary requirements and boosting disease-preventing and health-promoting properties. The course also describes importance of fruits and vegetables in human health, the interdisciplinary nature of such research and the need for agricultural/horticultural scientists, nutritionists, food scientists, biomedical scientists, chemists, biochemists, clinicians, medical professionals, and social economists to exchange information and bridge the communication gap between the agricultural sciences, nutrition and health sciences.