By Dr. Tim Sandle
July 10, 2025
DIGITAL JOURNAL
Farmer Sergiy Lioubarsky wonders how on earth he'll manage to harvest his crops - Copyright AFP CHANDAN KHANNA
Climate change is sapping the nutrients from a range of food. A new study finds that rising carbon dioxide and higher temperatures are reshaping how crops grow, and the climatic changes are also degrading their nutritional value.
This is especially apparent with leafy greens like kale and spinach. This shift presents concerns for global health, particularly in communities already facing nutritional stress.
The researchers warn that while crops may grow faster, they may also become less nourishing, with fewer minerals, proteins, and antioxidants raising concerns about obesity, weakened immunity, and chronic diseases.
According to lead researcher Jiata Ugwah Ekele: “These environmental changes can affect everything from photosynthesis and growth rates to the synthesis and storage of nutrients in crops.”
Ekele adds: “It’s crucial to understand these impacts because we are what we eat, and plants form the foundation of our food network as the primary producers of the ecosystem.
Furthermore, we gain valuable insights and seek to slowdown the rate of change through analysis: “By studying these interactions, we can better predict how climate change will shape the nutritional landscape of our food and work toward mitigating those effects.”
For instance, studying photosynthetic markers such as chlorophyll fluorescence and quantum yield. These can be assessed as the crops grow, while yield and biomass can be additionally recorded at harvest.
The research showed that after the plants have been grown under climate change conditions, and once their nutritional quality was analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and X-Ray Fluorescence profiling to measure the concentrations of sugar, protein, phenolics, flavonoids, vitamins and antioxidants, elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide leads to a reduction in key minerals like calcium and certain antioxidant compounds.
In particular, the interaction between carbon dioxide and heat stress had complex effects – the crops do not grow as big or fast and the decline in nutritional quality intensifies.
Yet it also stands that different crops have responded differently to these climate change stressors, with some species reacting more intensely than others.
This nutritional imbalance poses serious health implications for humanity. While higher CO2 levels can increase the concentration of sugars in crops, it can dilute essential proteins, minerals and antioxidants. Crops with poor nutritional content can also lead to deficiencies in vital proteins and vitamins that compromise the human immune system and exacerbate existing health conditions.
This research was presented at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Conference in Antwerp, Belgium on July 8th, 2025.
Farmer Sergiy Lioubarsky wonders how on earth he'll manage to harvest his crops - Copyright AFP CHANDAN KHANNA
Climate change is sapping the nutrients from a range of food. A new study finds that rising carbon dioxide and higher temperatures are reshaping how crops grow, and the climatic changes are also degrading their nutritional value.
This is especially apparent with leafy greens like kale and spinach. This shift presents concerns for global health, particularly in communities already facing nutritional stress.
The researchers warn that while crops may grow faster, they may also become less nourishing, with fewer minerals, proteins, and antioxidants raising concerns about obesity, weakened immunity, and chronic diseases.
According to lead researcher Jiata Ugwah Ekele: “These environmental changes can affect everything from photosynthesis and growth rates to the synthesis and storage of nutrients in crops.”
Ekele adds: “It’s crucial to understand these impacts because we are what we eat, and plants form the foundation of our food network as the primary producers of the ecosystem.
Furthermore, we gain valuable insights and seek to slowdown the rate of change through analysis: “By studying these interactions, we can better predict how climate change will shape the nutritional landscape of our food and work toward mitigating those effects.”
For instance, studying photosynthetic markers such as chlorophyll fluorescence and quantum yield. These can be assessed as the crops grow, while yield and biomass can be additionally recorded at harvest.
The research showed that after the plants have been grown under climate change conditions, and once their nutritional quality was analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and X-Ray Fluorescence profiling to measure the concentrations of sugar, protein, phenolics, flavonoids, vitamins and antioxidants, elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide leads to a reduction in key minerals like calcium and certain antioxidant compounds.
In particular, the interaction between carbon dioxide and heat stress had complex effects – the crops do not grow as big or fast and the decline in nutritional quality intensifies.
Yet it also stands that different crops have responded differently to these climate change stressors, with some species reacting more intensely than others.
This nutritional imbalance poses serious health implications for humanity. While higher CO2 levels can increase the concentration of sugars in crops, it can dilute essential proteins, minerals and antioxidants. Crops with poor nutritional content can also lead to deficiencies in vital proteins and vitamins that compromise the human immune system and exacerbate existing health conditions.
This research was presented at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Conference in Antwerp, Belgium on July 8th, 2025.
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