The Fate Of Our Food Systems Is Wrapped Up In Climate Change & Plant Nutrition – CleanTechnica

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Global climate change has had a significant impact on the way the world grows its food. Climate change introduces a suite of ominous factors, such as greenhouse gas emissions, elevated temperature, increased carbon dioxide concentrations, nitrous oxide and methane ozone depletion, and deforestation. All of these intensify environmental stresses on crops and can even deplete essential plant nutrition levels.

Food production is a significant driver of climate change, generating about 25% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. These agricultural emissions are the result of activities like farm machines that are powered by fossil fuels, fertilizer production, and methane released by livestock.

It is also well-documented that the food each of us chooses to consume has a significant impact on our planet. We must change what we eat to reduce our carbon footprint and mitigate the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Not sure? Read on and learn a bit more about the relationship between climate change and plant nutrition — and reflect what you can do about it with your food consumption choices.

Higher CO2 is Good for Plants, Right? Well, Not Entirely…

You would think that more atmospheric carbon dioxide would help plants, right? CO2 is part of the process by which plants make their own food. It’s during photosynthesis where plants use carbon dioxide, along with water and nutrients, to produce glucose and oxygen. Further, the glucose produced by the photosynthesis is used by the plant as an energy source for growth and development.

The verdant Earth achieves its lushness due to CO2 levels, and more CO2 gives a boost to faster plant growth. But there’s a catch.

Plant growth due to high CO2 conditions hides declining plant nutrition — they have significantly lower concentrations of essential nutrients. “Nutrient dilution”  results in reduced levels of vital micronutrients such as iron, zinc, copper, and magnesium in major food crops. In essence, plants can’t absorb and concentrate nutrients while CO2 accelerates their growth.

If plant nutrition declines significantly, it could trigger widespread food web disruption. The economic impacts of declining plant nutrition are vast, affecting everything from farm productivity to global trade.

The new data applies to cultivated crops and wild plant species, with serious implications for wildlife, livestock, and insect populations — all of which highlight potential biodiversity loss and ecosystem effects. What can be done?

• Farmers and ranchers are exploring various agricultural adaptation strategies, such as breeding nutrient-efficient crops and adopting advanced irrigation and fertilization techniques. Those approaches are long-term and involve lots of R&D, infrastructure adaptations, and sustainable farming practices.
• Food manufacturers may need to alter product formulations or seek alternative sources for raw materials, potentially driving up production and consumer costs.
• Promising solutions include developing climate-resilient crop varieties that maintain high nutrient levels, improving soil management practices, and using precision agriculture technologies to optimize resource use.
• Conservation efforts focused on protecting vulnerable ecosystems and biodiversity are crucial for maintaining balanced food webs.

The bottom line is that there is an urgent need for sustainable agriculture innovation that is practical, adaptable, and affordable.

Incorporating the Social Cost of GHG-Intensive Foods into Pricing

Results of a 2024 study in Europe could offer some hope for US consumers — if we legislated their findings.

Analyzing emission reductions following the introduction of a CO2 eq-weighted carbon tax based on the social cost of carbon, the researchers determined that pricing greenhouse gas (GHG)-intensive foods could help meet climate targets for agriculture while generating over 8.2 billion Euros annually. (The social cost of carbon is an estimate of the economic damages that would result from emitting one additional ton of carbon into the atmosphere in the future.)

Emissions within the agriculture sector in Germany could be reduced by 22.5% or over 15 million tons of GHG annually if the social cost of carbon were reflected in food prices.

And, as these funds were redistributed to households through a lump-sum compensation scheme, it would ease the financial burden on households, especially those with lower incomes. At the same time, it held consumers to choose healthier foods for themselves and the planet. “Households would tend to buy more food that is less carbon-intensive on average, such as vegetables. A climate fee would not only directly benefit climate protection but could also encourage sustainable consumption,” scientist Max Franks, author of the study, told Phys.org.

Emission-intensive products such as meat and dairy would be most affected by such a climate fee of around 200 euros per ton GHG, while prices for more sustainable products would rise less. Yogurt and milk would increase by about 25 cents per kilogram, while beef prices could rise by over 4 euros/kg.

The study was based on a representative picture of how German households respond to price changes, which the researchers assessed for effects of GHG pricing on consumption and associated emissions.

Nobel Laureates Call for Greater Commitment to Food Systems

More than 150 Nobel and World Food Prize Laureates have made an unprecedented plea for financial and political backing to develop “moonshot” technologies with the greatest chance of averting a hunger catastrophe in the next 25 years.

In an open letter signed by 153 winners of the Nobel Prize and World Food Prize, the signatories warned that the world was “not even close” to meeting future food needs, with an estimated 700 million people going hungry today and an additional 1.5 billion people to feed by 2050.

The letter predicted humanity faced an “even more food insecure, unstable world” by mid-century unless the international community ramped up support for the latest research and innovation. Citing challenges including climate change, conflict, and market pressures, it called for planet-friendly efforts leading to substantial, not just incremental, leaps in food production for food and nutrition security.

The letter cited a list of the most promising scientific breakthroughs and emerging fields of research that could be prioritized to boost food production, despite existing and future challenges. These include:

• improving photosynthesis in staple crops such as wheat and rice to optimize growth
• developing cereals that can source nitrogen biologically and grow without fertilizer
• boosting research into hardy, nutrition-rich indigenous crops that have been largely overlooked for improvements

The appeal was coordinated by Cary Fowler, joint 2024 World Food Prize Laureate, who is also the outgoing US Special Envoy for Global Food Security. The letter was on the agenda during an event in the Senate Committee on Agriculture Room at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on Tuesday, January 14, followed by a webinar on Thursday, January 16.