nutritious

A hidden cost of climate change

August 25, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Climate change is dramatically impacting food production by altering rainfall patterns, increasing temperatures, and triggering more frequent extreme weather events. These changes make crops more vulnerable to droughts, floods, heatwaves, pests, and diseases, leading to lower yields and greater uncertainty for farmers worldwide.

But climate change isn’t just reshaping our planet. It’s also changing what’s on our plates. According to a new study by researchers from Liverpool John Moores University in the UK, rising carbon dioxide levels and warmer temperatures may be making food less nutritious.

The research team focused on popular leafy vegetables, including kale, rocket, and spinach. The researchers simulated future UK climate conditions in growth chambers to study how the crops responded to hotter, CO2-rich environments.

The research team found that elevated CO2 levels help crops grow faster and bigger, but not healthier. Over time, the crops showed a reduction in key minerals like calcium and certain antioxidant compounds. These changes were exacerbated by increases in temperature. In fact, the combination had complex effects. The crops did not grow as big or fast, and the decline in nutritional quality intensified.

This nutritional imbalance poses serious human health implications. Rising CO2 levels can increase sugar in crops while reducing essential nutrients, leading to calorie-rich but nutrient-poor diets. This shift may raise the risk of obesity, diabetes, and nutrient deficiencies, especially in vulnerable populations.

The challenge ahead isn’t just to grow enough food to feed a growing population, but to preserve the quality of that food in a changing climate.

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Bigger crops, fewer nutrients: The hidden cost of climate change

Photo, posted May 25, 2010, courtesy of Jason Bachman via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A common plant could be a valuable food source

April 4, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A new study by researchers at Penn State University has found that a common water plant in the eastern U.S. could be a valuable green fertilizer, a feed for poultry and livestock, and even a life-saving food for people in the event of a catastrophe or disaster.

The plant is the Carolina azolla. It is sometimes called mosquito fern, fairy moss, or water fern. It is a water plant that grows very rapidly; it can double its biomass in two days. There are many varieties of azolla, but the Carolina strain is more digestible and nutritious for people than any of the others.

Azolla species have been used across the world for centuries as a livestock feed and as a fertilizer. They have not been good for human consumption because of high polyphenolic content, which can be 10 times more than that of common food plants. Polyphenols are abundant compounds in many plants and, in low concentrations, are beneficial antioxidants. But in high concentrations they act as antinutritional agents.

It turns out that the Carolina azolla – described as having a crisp texture and neutral taste – has a polyphenolic content comparable to many fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Furthermore, cooking significantly decreases the polyphenolic content in foods.

Carolina azolla has significant nutritional value including high mineral yields and calories, and moderate protein content. Whether it is used as a quick-fix in a disaster situation or as part of a long-term resilience plan, the study concludes that Carolina azolla holds excellent potential for use as a fast-growing, short-season crop that requires minimal effort to grow and process and could be used to increase food security in a hungry world.

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Common plant could help reduce food insecurity, researchers find

Photo, posted October 8, 2020, courtesy of Dana L. Brown via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Hybrid beef rice

March 19, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

There is growing interest in innovative and more environmentally friendly ways to provide protein in our diets. We’ve heard a great deal about lab-grown or cultured meats and about protein derived from insects. Whether either of these things achieves mainstream acceptance remains to be seen.

Scientists at Yonsei University in South Korea have developed a method for creating cultured beef rice – truly a hybrid food. The method, described in the journal Matter, results in a nutritious and flavorful food that could be more affordable and have a smaller carbon footprint than current protein sources.

The researchers took rice grains – which are porous and have organized structures – and seeded them with beef muscle and stem cells and allowed them to culture for 9 to 11 days. The harvested final product is a cell-cultured beef rice.

The hybrid beef rice was steamed and subjected to various food industry analyses, including nutritional value, odor, and texture. The hybrid rice has 8% more protein and 7% more fat than regular rice. It was somewhat firmer and more brittle than ordinary rice. Hybrid rice with higher muscle content had beef- and almond-related odor compounds, while those with higher fat content had compounds corresponding to cream, butter, and coconut oil.

The hybrid rice has low food safety risks and a relatively easy production process. If commercialized, the hybrid rice would be far less expensive than beef. The researchers are optimistic that it can be commercialized. They are continuing to work on the processing, hoping to further boost the nutritional value. Like other unconventional foods under development, the biggest question is ultimately whether people will want to eat it.

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By growing animal cells in rice grains, scientists dish up hybrid food

Photo, posted January 26, 2010, courtesy of CIAT / Neil Palmer via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Does vertically-grown food taste different?

January 2, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Vertical farming is a method of producing crops in vertically stacked layers or surfaces typically in a skyscraper, used warehouse, or shipping container. Modern vertical farming uses indoor farming techniques and controlled-environment agriculture technology.

Vertical farming has the potential to be one of the solutions to food insecurity in parts of the world where crop production is limited by climate change or other environmental factors. Vertical farming reduces water and land use, reduces nutrient emissions, and could eliminate the need for pesticides. It also allows more food to be grown locally and with higher yields.

But some critics of vertically-grown veggies say they look pale, artificial, and taste bland. In the first study of its kind, a research team led by scientists from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark sought to investigate whether these consumer prejudices hold true.

The research team asked 190 participants to blind taste test arugula, baby spinach, pea shoots, basil, and parsley grown in vertical farming and compare the taste and appearance to those same leafy greens grown organically in soil.

Overall, the organic greens grown traditionally narrowly beat out the vertically-grown ones in the study, but it was very close. For example, when asked to rate arugula on a scale of 1-9 with 9 being best, the participants gave both types a 6.6. There was no clear winner between basil, baby spinach, and pea shoots. The only clear winner was organically-grown parsley.

The study debunks some myths about vertically-grown food and should help pave the way for more widespread adoption of this efficient method to grow tasty and nutritious food.

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A delicious surprise: Vertically farmed greens taste as good as organic ones

Photo, posted May 11, 2009, courtesy of Cliff Johnson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Climate Change And The Global Food System

December 24, 2015 By WAMC WEB

One of the most troubling aspects of global climate change is its potential impact on the production, distribution and quality of food. A report issued at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference focused on identifying climate change impacts on global food security. Food security is the ability of people to obtain and use sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food. Even without the impact of climate change, food security is a challenge because of increasing population, poverty, and changing eating habits.