Air pollution is not limited to causing respiratory conditions. Do you know it can impact the crop yield and food’s nutritional values? According to FAO, around 691 to 783 million people have faced hunger in 2022. Additionally, they also highlighted that 2.4 billion people experienced severe food insecurity. These conditions are taking place due to many reasons. The most concerning issue is climate change or air pollution. Yes, Air pollution affects our food.
Have you ever considered the food you are eating is polluted? What if I tell you that right now air pollution is altering your food? Yes from your salad’s vegetables to the bread’s grain air pollution can alter. Air pollution can affect the food production, nutritional value and food security. Let us know about how air pollution affects our food and lead to malnutrition. Thus, you can know the ways to have healthy food on your plate.
How does air pollution affects our food?
According to UNEP, air pollution contributes to 7 million deaths annually. The concern is not limited to affecting our bodies and health directly. Because air pollution can also affect our food’s health. Eventually, we eat polluted food that leads to health issues and poor nutrition. Various activities and practices lead to air pollution emissions. It has a direct effect on the crop production.
Air pollution, particularly from industrial activities, vehicle emissions, and agricultural practices, has a direct effect on crop production. Key pollutants like ozone (O₃), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) can cause substantial damage to plants. The main sources of these pollutants are Rapid industrial growth, Urbanization, Energy Production, Agricultural Practices and Climate Change. Let us know how it affects our crops and food.
How does Air Pollution Affect Crop Health?
Environment plays a crucial role in shaping Crop yields. Since, a healthy production requires proper sunlight, rain, air etc. However, climate change is affecting the chances and crops healthy. Air pollution affects our food by affecting crop health. Here knows how:
Ozone pollution:
Ground-level ozone reduces photosynthesis which is crucial for plants to grow. Hence, it slows down the plant growth and results in smaller yields. A study published in Science Direct found day ozone has caused global yield losses as estimated between 2 to 16%. It includes the yield of staple crops such as wheat, rice, maize and soybean. Another study published in same journal shows, ozone pollution in crop yield leads to economic loss of around 5 billion USD for wheat and 1.5 billion USD for rice in India.
Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxides:
SO2 and NOX can affect the soil’s pH level as by causing acid rain. Eventually, the soil pH is essential for the nutrients of the soil. It transfers nutrients to the plant. However, these pollutants affect the nutritional value of the plants and cause stunted growth and yield reduction. To emphasize, a case study published in the Journal of Environmental Quality shows that high SO2 level in soybean crops causes around 26% reduction. Additionally, NO2 and SO2 together reduce around 35% to 31% of soybean yields.
How does Air Pollution Affects Our Food Nutrition?
Heavy metals:
Air pollution affects the nutrition of food. As it interferes with the normal growth of the crop. Industrial and vehicle emissions contain heavy metals including lead, mercury etc.
Heavy metals can absorb by the plants and result in poor growth. Besides, any human can inhale heavy metals along with food which results in severe health issues. An article published in Science Direct shows how heavy metals affected many crops globally including wheat, rice, cereals, fruits and vegetables.
The article also found heavy metals in the food cause extreme health issues. It includes kidney conditions, Respiratory problems, Multi-organ dysfunction etc.
Food Nutrients:
High carbon dioxide levels in crop yields affect food production and plant growth. It affects the essential nutrients in the food and can cause malnutrition. Additionally, many studies have found that CO2 levels alter food nutrients.
CO2 levels decrease the nutritional value including protein, zinc, and iron in crops. These nutrients are essential for everyone’s health. These deficiencies can lead to various diseases. A study published in Research Gate found CO2 reduces the protein concentration by 10% to 15%. It includes various crops such as wheat, barley, and rice. Moreover, it also reduces the protein concentration in potatoes as by 14% and 1.4% in soybean.
How does it affects Food Security and Safety?
Air pollution also includes bioaerosols. Food during production, preparation and making can come into contact with various pollutants including bioaerosols (fungi, bacteria, viruses, dust mites, moulds etc). And these can significantly impact food security and nutrients.
1. Crop diseases:
High concentrations of bioaerosols in fields lead to widespread crop diseases. As a result, it affects crop yields and nutrients. For instance, plants can suffer from fungal spores like rust and smuts. Fungal toxins can affect the stored food products as well.
According to FAQ, Stripe or yellow rust disease affects the wheat crop. As it can cause 100% to 50% of grain shrivelling or damage.
2. Food storage:
Bacteria types easily contaminate livestock food. As it affects dairy and meat productivity. Many studies have shown that bacteria like Salmonella affect cattle health and dairy yield. Many bioaerosols can containment the food in factories as during preparation or storing.
3. During production:
Every crop requires pest resistance that helps with pesticides. Many pesticides volatilize in the air and increase the pollutant concentration. It can also lead to the production of ozone in the air. Besides, pesticides can cause leaf burn and chlorosis that impacts production. Moreover, a study disclosed that pesticide applications increase the PM10 and PM2.5 levels in the air.
How Can You Mitigate Air Pollution Affects on Your Food?
Mitigation can become more manageable if we try to control the pollution concentrations. Vehicles, industries and urbanization cause significant pollution. It is affecting the food production and security. So let us check some practical steps to mitigate its effects:
1. Clean air:
Everyone has to support the initiative to reduce the air pollution. We have to be more mindful in our daily activities. Additionally, stubble burning in farms and vehicles or industry emissions near farms or villages must be reduced. Moreover, renewable energy sources promotions can help control emissions. You can work on your own basis to invest in pollution control as by simple steps like carpooling, using public transport, growing more plants etc.
2. Air quality monitoring:
The easiest step to control pollutant levels is monitoring the air in crop yields. It can perform with advanced air quality monitors. Outdoor air quality monitors can measure various pollutants and provide real-time data. Farmers and food production teams can make quick decisions to protect crops from many pollutants with monitoring.
3. Consumer choices:
You can opt for organic produce or locally grown foods. Because these are less likely to be exposed to heavy air pollutants. Also, it has environmental advantages with the production. Additionally, some studies found organic foods have high nutritional value as compared to normal grown.
4. Washing your food properly:
The last but not the least technique is washing your food properly before consuming it. You can rinse your fruits, vegetables, cereals, rice etc under running water. It helps remove pollutants from the surface and saves you from consuming them.
Air pollution affects our food system, nutrients and security significantly. We can work towards healthier foods by taking proactive measures. Let us make a clean and healthy world for everyone and eat a healthy diet every day.
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