Eating One’s Way to Health
“Let food be thy medicine” wrote Hippocrates (460–370 B.C.), the founder of medicine as a science. More than two thousand years later, this principle still holds true. That’s why Agroscope conducts research day in, day out for healthy and enjoyable food, with a focus on quality and safety. Foods should first and foremost be free from harmful substances. In addition, constituents with a positive impact on health should be promoted and preserved over the course of the production chain from field to table. Furthermore, Agroscope researches digestion, since healthy foods are of no use if their health-supporting constituents fail to make it into the human body, or arrive there in an undesirable form. An example of this is described in the cover story ‘Digestibility and Nutritional Value of Food – How Are They Linked?’. The aim is to continue to improve fermented (i.e. cultured) milk products so we may reap the full benefits of their positive properties.
Soya is regarded as very healthy, but many consumers in Europe find its grassy taste offputting. The article ‘Swiss Soybean for Gourmets’ shows how Agroscope researchers are breeding new soya varieties that are adapted to the Swiss climate, and that appeal to the European palate.
If pigs on a fattening farm are found to be suffering from infection diseases they will often be treated with antibiotics. Because this increases the risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (‘superbugs’), it can have a boomerang effect on us humans. Read about what Agroscope is doing to deal with this problem in the article ‘Preventing Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Pig Feed’.
Last but not least, sustainably run farms form an important basis for the production of healthy foods. But how is farm sustainability assessed? The article ‘Practical Ways to Assess Sustainability’ sets out the approach taken by Agroscope.
Thus, when looking for ways to continue to support the production of healthy and enjoyable foods, Agroscope is the right port of call – since we’re already dealing with tomorrow’s topics, today.
Jean-Philippe Mayor, Deputy CEO Agroscope
