Developing a healthy and sustainable food vision: That is the main mission of the Rio Food Vision initiative, an alliance formed by civil society organizations, government, and research institutions like Embrapa, coordinated by Conservation International (CI-Brazil) and WWF-Brazil. Among other actions, Rio Food Vision is going to promote two fairs with family farmers from the state of Rio de Janeiro between August 12 and August 14 in Rio de Janeiro, the capital. Embrapa is going to showcase services and products such as biofortified foods, which have appealed to the taste of athletes. Established in 2013, the initiative seized the opportunity posed by the Olympic and Paralympic Games to encourage business and to raise the visibility of themes related to the production and consumption of foods of responsible origin. "The biggest gain will be the legacy. One of the initiative's merits is to have gathered more than 35 institutions to work on a joint outlook on the agrifood system. The discussions on public policies as vectors of biodiversity conservation, on organic agriculture, and on the rescue of the traditional knowledge represent an enormous advance. The educational approach of the materials provided to schools and the selection of certified farmers in all of Brazil also contribute to food sovereignty in Brazil", affirms the Embrapa Agrobiology researcher Mariella Uzeda, a member of the initiative. Offering safe foods to athletes and the population is also one of the goals of the initiative. "Food security must not be neglected and the Games will be an opportunity to disseminate the concept among the companies that will cater for athletes and also among the population that participates in the fairs coordinated by the initiative. In addition, giving more visibility to sustainable products of Brazilian agriculture and family-based agroindustry is going to be a major legacy from the games", asserts Angela Furtado, a researcher from Embrapa Food Technology. A partner of the Organizing Committee of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the Rio Sustainable Food Vision has contributed to the elaboration of the official food procurement policy for the Olympics, based on a national diagnosis of the supply of products that meet the responsible production criteria. About 6,000 suppliers in activity in the country were surveyed and organized by type of product in supply, place of production, certifications and supply capacity. The result was the largest database of sustainable suppliers of Brazil. "A healthy and sustainable food product is one that preserves biodiversity, prevents damage to natural resources, provides social benefits, and promotes population health and fair trade", explains Frederico Machado, a conservation expert from WWF-Brazil and member of the Executive Secretariat of the Rio Sustainable Food Vision" explica Frederico Machado, especialista em conservação no WWF-Brasil e membro da Secretaria Executiva da Rio Alimentação Sustentável. "We have devised a food vision concept that has an innovative approach, as it considers all the stages of a given food's production chain, from sowing, through harvest, storage, processing, transportation, trade, and consumption to waste disposal", Frederico adds. Rio Sustainable Food Vision Fairs During the Olympic Games, the initiative is going to promote two fairs in Rio de Janeiro city, which will bring the best of family farming in Rio de Janeiro state, as well as gastronomic and musical attractions and a display of products. The fairs are the fruit of a partnership with the state Secretariat of Solidary Economic Development (SEDES/Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro) and with the Rio Rural Program, by the Rio de Janeito State Secretariat of Agriculture. The Brazilian Ministry of Environment is also a supporter of the initiative. Rio Sustainable Food Vision Fairs Dates: August 12, 13 and 14 Time: 9h - 17h Venues: Largo do Machado (Flamengo) and Praça do Ó (Barra da Tijuca). Free admission. Access the website Rio Alimentação Sustentável: http://rio-alimentacaosustentavel.org.br (Portuguese) or the website Rio Food Vision: http://www.riofoodvision.org/ (English) Biofortified Foods attract athletes' attention Food biofortification consists of nutrient increments to foods such as as beans, sweet potato, and maize through the process of crossbreeding plants within the same species. Embedded with research and development led by Embrapa in Brazil, such more nutritional foods have caught the attention of new consumers, especially sportspeople. That is the case of Giovana Stephan and Renan Alcântara, first and only Brazilian synchronized swimming mixed duet. Because of their physical output, both take great care with their diets, which explains their optimism with regard to biofortified foods. "I loved the biofortified sweet potato. It is very sweet, softer, not to mention that it grows fast, and so green, that I get eager to pick it. If it was only up to me, I would have tried all biofortified foods; athletes need to keep investing in their diets, in the quality of the food they are going to consume, to obtain an improved performance, and biofortified foods can do all of that. Supplements are very artificial and expensive, and they also overload the organism", says Giovana Stephan, an athlete who was part of the Brazilian senior synchronized swimming team for 10 years, and is today representing the country in the mixed duet. Amongst her greatest achievements is to have been the first Brazilian solo swimmer to go to a final, a feat that took place at the FINA World Swimming Championship in Rome, 2009. Alongside Renan and Giovana, in the sports circuit of biofortified food appreciators, there is Karina Lins e Silva, former beach volleyball athlete who nowadays is taking care of Olympic preparations in Rio de Janeiro for the Organizing Committee of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. With a degree in Nutrition and Physical Education, Sandra Pires has experienced great moments in the sport, including the period she formed a duo with the Olympic champion Sandra Pires, then at the age of 19; the first place in the 1994 Brazilian Championship (Circuito BB) with the player Renata Palmier; and her retirement from the competitions, in 1998. Today she is focused on managing her farm, in Teresópolis, Rio de Janeiro, and the project Set Point, of which she is one of the idealizers. She believes that such cultivars are reaching the market at a good time, since many people are still leaning towards supplementation. "Supplementation ends up being expensive and not always efficient, it can often become wasted and even get to point of causing kidney overload. People often do not need that amount of protein available in the supplements. More natural options such as biofortified foods allow us to raise more awareness among young people about their diets", she concludes. Biofortification efforts in Brazil are driven by the BioFORT Network, whose leader is the Embrapa Food Technology researcher Marília Nutti. The BioFORT Network is responsible for encompassing all of Brazil's food biofortification projects, and it is currently coordinated by Embrapa. Based on conventional genetic improvement techniques, the micronutrient content of rice, bean, sweet potato, cassava, maize, cowpea, squash and wheat cultivars can be selected and enhanced. The process creates new crops with higher content of provitamin A, iron and zinc, and supports the fight against human micronutrient deficiency. Collaboration: Raphael Santos (BioFORT Network/ HarvestPlus) Translation: Mariana de Lima Medeiros