Functional Value in Breeding Integrated to the Vegetables Value Chain as Part of Decision Making

Actually, there is a great demand for healthy food containing added functional value, because people, have begun to change their diet with increments in the consumption of foods rich in antioxidants compounds, vitamins, minerals, and others. Vegetables are one of the most important sources of bioactive compounds; therefore, developing new varieties with enhanced content in bioactive compounds is an increasingly important breeding objective. Breeding programs should be focused, not just in pest resistance or tolerance, yield, and so on, but in the added value of the nutraceutical compounds, giving to new breeds special characteristics for human health. There have been efforts in some vegetables to generate new breeds with increased bioactive compounds, antioxidant as added value for the consumer, some of them are already commercial but there is still a long way to go. This chapter analyse the goals and advances in vegetables breeding, conventional and with use of biotechnology and their integration to the value chain, specifically in three important crops: artichoke, tomato and lettuce.