As global warming becomes more and more of a reality, scientists and researchers are seeing how food crops will hold up in future climate conditions in the upcoming decades. Pollutants and heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide are expected to rise, and this could seriously harm the food supply of the planet.
Some of the farming fields trying to mimic growing
conditions are those just a few miles from the University of Illinois, where scientists
are testing predicted future growing conditions on corn and have been for the
past decade or so. Pipes spray extra carbon dioxide and ozone (which is harmful
and corrosive on ground level) into the air. Other equipment tries to mimic
droughts and heat waves. The results have been troublesome, as the data shows
that compared to today’s crops, the crops grown under future climate conditions
are extremely deficient in nutrients. Furthermore, even though plants would
benefit from an increase in carbon dioxide, the stresses caused by other
factors offsets this benefit significantly.
Negative impacts on the food supply in the future are
anticipated, and therefore people are trying to work towards solutions. Some solutions suggested by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are changing
farming practices and improving the genetic variety of crops. Another solution
is reducing ozone, because this seems to have a bigger impact than realized,
and would be an easy pollutant to control. Researchers are using modern
genetics, agriculture and climate science to create a food supply that will be
able to withstand the future climate conditions.
I find it to be a very good thing that people are already
taking steps to improve our future in the face of the global warming crisis,
since many seem to want to sit back and wait until it’s too late to do anything.
I hope that this problem can be addressed since the world is already
undernourished. It seems like a daunting task to make plants undergo a great
deal of genetic change in only a couple decades.
