Plant Biologist says that Rising CO2 Levels are Making Food Less Nutritious
Basic science tells us that Carbon dioxide (CO2) is required by plants to grow. However, that does not necessarily mean that the crop would get more nutritious.
Louis Ziska, a Plant Biologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, found out that rice grown at high CO2 levels had lower levels of protein, iron, zinc, and Vitamin B.
Rice is a staple source of calories for almost 2 billion people in the world. Therefore, the lack of nutrients in rice can have an impact on the entire world. Studies have also found that corn, peas, soybean, and many other plants show reduced nutritional levels as CO2 levels rise.
It is believed that as the carbon dioxide rises, the soil does not have nitrogen to compensate for the increased carbon. This makes the plant bigger but the concentration of nutrients gets decreased.
Ziska also believes that some plants like Parthenium can also grow in size. Parthenium is an invasive allergy-producing plant that has chemicals that can destroy other plants. Parthenium can dominate the landscape if it continues to grow.
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