Climate change will make staple food item toxic, research finds

The earth shattering news will devastate billions of people around the world consume rice as part of their daily diet

Climate change is set to make the most consumed grain in the world become more toxic to consume, new research suggests.

A study published Wednesday in The Lancet found that rising heat and carbon dioxide emissions threaten to make rice more susceptible to absorbing arsenic, a heavy metal that would threaten to expose billions of consumers to cancers and other diseases, especially babies.

The news is particularly devastating to the billions across the developing world who rely on rice as part of their daily diet.

The novel study conducted by research teams in the U.S. and China looked at how various rice species respond to rising greenhouse gas emissions for six years—and the results could be earth-shattering for communities across the globe.

Researcher Lewis Ziska, a plant physiologist and associate professor at Columbia University, has studied how climate change impacts the nutrients in staple plants for three decades, said that the results of their study were shocking.

“Previous work has focused on individual responses—some on CO2 and some on temperature, but not both, and not on a wide range of rice genetics,” Ziska said. We knew that temperature by itself could increase levels, and carbon dioxide by a little bit. But when we put both of them together, then wow, that was really something we were not expecting.”

Ziska expressed grave concern over the development knowing that half of the world’s people rely on rice.

“You’re looking at a crop staple that’s consumed by a billion people every day, and any effect on toxicity is going to have a pretty damn large effect,” he said.

The study found that increased levels of both carbon dioxide and temperature dramatically increased the amount of arsenic and inorganic arsenic in the rice.

Inorganic arsenic exposure is linked to several cancers, including skin, bladder and lung, as well as heart disease and neurological issues for infants. Parts of the world with high rice consumption are at increased risk of developing cancer, research finds.

Scientists have been aware of the potential dangers of arsenic levels in rice, though the study ramped up concerns.

“There is a toxicological effect of climate change relative to one of the most consumed staples in the world,” Ziska said. “The consumption is one of the hallmarks of whether you’re going to be vulnerable to that effect.”

Researchers are looking into developing rice strains that are less likely to absorb the toxic metal while urging consumers to look into alternatives.