POISONED CHALICE: TOXIN ACCUMULATION IN CROPS IN THE ERA OF CLIMATE CHANGE


Poisoned Chalice: Toxin Accumulation in Crops in the Era of Climate Change


Climate changes trigger accumulation of toxins in crops


Climate change is already underway, with shifting weather patterns that will present serious challenges to agricultural productivity. Each of the past several decades has been significantly warmer than the previous one. The period 2011– 2015 was the hottest on record, and 2015 was the hottest year since modern observations began in the late 1800s.1


global assessment released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that since 1950 the frequency of heat waves has increased in large parts of Europe, Asia, and Australia; that the frequency and intensity of droughts have increased in the Mediterranean and West Africa; and that the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation events are likely to increase in North America and Europe.2


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Given that more than 70 per cent of agricultural production relies on rainfall, increasing climate variability poses an unprecedented challenge to agriculture and to food production systems around the world.3


Climate threats


to food security are expected to be worse in countries at subtropical and tropical latitudes.4


For instance, the The 2013


frequency, severity, and range of droughts in the entire African continent have significantly increased between 1900 and 2013.5,6


Specifically in East Africa, the well-documented


2010–2011 drought greatly affected agricultural yield and increased food insecurity in the region.7


In 2015-2016, El


Niño-related dry conditions reduced crop production in parts of Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, and Oceania, while drought conditions in East and Southern Africa resulted in decreased cereal production.8


Analysis of detailed crop


Photo Credit: Crystal51/ Shutterstock.com

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