Converging Innovations for Sustainable Human Nutrition: Mushrooms, Plant Bioactives, and Safe Nano Biofortification

The field of sustainable human nutrition is undergoing a transformative phase, increasingly shaped by synergistic innovations that bridge the domains of food biodiversity, advanced bioactive compounds, and novel fortification technologies. Mounting evidence underscores the need to move beyond traditional approaches as malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and environmentally unsustainable food systems persist worldwide. Recent scientific advances have highlighted the remarkable potential of mushrooms and diverse plant bioactives as nutrient-rich, functional ingredients. Complementing these, nano-enabled biofortification offers precision in enhancing micronutrient profiles of foods, yet raises questions about environmental safety, consumer acceptance, and comprehensive health impacts. Despite the growing promise, there remain significant gaps regarding integrated sustainability assessment, real-world impacts on food systems, and the safety implications of new technologies, necessitating holistic research that addresses nutrition, ecosystem health, and policy dimensions. This Research Topic aims to foster a multidisciplinary investigation into how mushrooms, plant-derived bioactive compounds, and safe nano-biofortification can jointly advance the goals of sustainable human nutrition. The primary objective is to clarify the ecological, nutritional, and societal benefits and risks of merging these innovations. Key questions include how these advancements can be harnessed to provide ecosystem services, improve dietary patterns and population health, reduce nutrient losses and food waste, and inform policy and intervention strategies that support both environmental and human well-being. The goal is to bridge critical knowledge gaps, validate novel methods and metrics, and generate evidence that supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—specifically, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Responsible Consumption and Production, and Climate Action.To gather further insights into the convergence of sustainable nutrition and environmental stewardship, this Research Topic invites contributions that align with defined boundaries: all submissions must focus on the interplay between nutrition, environmental sustainability, and human health, while clearly excluding clinical disease management, sleep disorders, and animal feed applications. We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Diets, foods, and nutrients as ecosystem services, especially the roles of fungi and plant biodiversityo Dietary intakes and patterns in relation to agro-ecological zones and environmental contaminantso Environmental impact assessment of mushroom production, plant bioactive sourcing, and nano-biofortification technologies, including life-cycle analyses and regenerative approacheso Food and nutrient losses, waste minimization strategies, and circular economy modelso Comprehensive characterization of food composition: nutrients, bioactive non-nutrients, and contaminants, with emphasis on omics and emerging analytical methodso Equity and access in nutrition and the effects of dietary transitions toward fungi- and plant-rich dietso Interventions, case studies, and policy evaluations that measure nutrition-environment outcomes in varied socio-economic contextso Development and validation of integrated indicators and metrics for sustainability, risk-benefit, and consumer acceptance Topic editors: James Simon Chacha, Khandsuren Badgar Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79381/converging-innovations-for-sustainable-human-nutrition-mushrooms-plant-bioactives-and-safe-nano-biofortification