by Tom Philpott
Wed May 14, 2014
Higher CO2 levels caused a
"significant decrease in the concentrations of zinc, iron, and
protein" for wheat and rice.
[...]
The results: a
"significant decrease in the concentrations of zinc, iron, and
protein" for wheat and rice, a Harvard press release on the study reports.
For legumes like soybeans and peas, protein didn’t change much, but zinc and
iron levels dropped. For wheat, the treated crops saw zinc, iron, and protein
fell by 9.3 percent, 5.1 percent, and 6.3 percent, respectively.
These are potentially grave
findings, because a large swath of humanity relies on rice, wheat, and legumes
for these very nutrients, the authors note. They report that two billion people
already suffer from zinc and iron deficiencies, "causing a loss of 63 million
life-years annually."
According to the Harvard press release, the
"reduction in these nutrients represents the most significant health
threat ever shown to be associated with climate change." Symptoms of zinc deficiency include stunted growth, appetite loss,
impaired immune function, hair loss, diarrhea, delayed sexual maturation,
impotence, hypogonadism (for males), and eye and skin lesions; while iron deficiency brings on fatigue, shortness of
breath, dizziness, and headache.
[...]
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