Challenges facing sustainable protein production : Opportunities for cereals

Rising demands for protein worldwide are likely to drive increases in livestock production, as meat provides-40% of dietary protein. This will come at a significant environmental cost, and a shift toward plant-based protein sources would therefore provide major benefits. While legumes provide substantial amounts of plant-based protein, cereals are the major constituents of global foods, with wheat alone accounting for 15-20% of the required dietary protein intake. Improvement of protein content in wheat is limited by phe-notyping challenges, lack of genetic potential of modern germplasms, negative yield trade-offs, and envi-ronmental costs of nitrogen fertilizers. Presenting wheat as a case study, we discuss how increasing pro-tein content in cereals through a revised breeding strategy combined with robust phenotyping could ensure a sustainable protein supply while minimizing the environmental impact of nitrogen fertilizer.