More and more pollution in the air: a risk for food
Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), in increasing quantities, would be a real threat to food on a global scale. This is indicated by a recent study, published on May 7 in the scientific journal Nature (1) .
CO 2 emissions remain on the rise despite studies on their impact on the environment and despite the various awareness campaigns (2) .
This increase is present not only in large cities but also in remote areas. It is the consequence of deforestation and the combustion of fossil materials such as oil, coal and natural gas. More specifically, it is a consequence relating to industrial plants, individual and collective transport and excess electricity.
The context
Consumption or over-consumption, in addition to the economic aspects, also has a detrimental effect on the environment. The same is true for transport, even collective transport such as trains and planes. The latter circulate en masse, new railway lines are constantly being created and airlines are multiplying at high speed.
This peak of Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) was very important 3 years ago, in 2011 and since then it has not ceased to increase. We note an evolution, last year, of 2.1%, that is to say more than 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions (CO 2 ) (2) .
The impact on food
But the rise in Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) is also a scourge for farms. Wheat, corn, barley and other cereals suffer from this natural poisoning, this is what the study shows . In fact, zinc and iron, present in plants and cereals, and essential to the body, decrease in proportion to their exposure to pollution (CO 2 ).
This decline occurs even though individuals are already suffering from zinc and iron deficiencies. The explosion of Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ), therefore only increases these nutritional deficiencies . The study recalls that zinc and iron deficiencies represent nearly 63 million deaths each year and that nearly 2 billion people in the world suffer from a lack of iron and zinc (3) .
The decrease in these substances in agricultural crops as well as the presence and increase in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is therefore a real danger for people’s diets.
In addition to experiencing a decrease in iron and zinc intake, for certain cereals called C 3 (wheat and rice) a drop in protein per cultivated part has been noted.
In terms of figures, we can speak of a reduction of 10% in zinc, 5 % in iron and 6% in proteins linked to pollution between a C3 cereal highly exposed to CO2 and between a C3 wheat simply exposed in ambient air.
What can be done to overcome these results which endanger the health of each other?
Consume well, consume better, this is the motto of most households.
Some will opt for the organic market, others for individual or shared vegetable gardens, an economic, social, healthy and ecological approach (4) .
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.