Global warming means that in many areas the heat causes plants to go into stress ("stress"), one of the results of plants' defense against stress in general and heat in particular is an increase in the concentration of toxins in the plant's organs. When the plant is an edible plant, this means an increase in the concentration of toxins in the food
Global warming means that in many areas the heat causes plants to go into stress ("stress"), one of the results of plants' defense against stress in general and heat in particular is an increase in the concentration of toxins in the plant's organs. When the plant is an edible plant, this means an increase in the concentration of toxins in the food.
Researchers of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) publish a study that states that as the temperature rises and the climate becomes more extreme, more and more edible plants "produce" more chemicals that may cause health problems for people and livestock that eat them.
According to the researchers: crops such as wheat, corn, sorghum, rice, soybeans, oats and millet,
produce more chemicals in response to heat in order to protect themselves. It turns out that the chemicals are harmful toxins to humans and animals when they are consumed over time.
A researcher from UNEP's "Global Warming Assessment" department says that "Crops react to drought conditions and an increase in temperature similar to a person affected by a difficult situation." "Under normal conditions, plants that absorb nitrates convert them into proteins and amino acids, but in a long drought or heat, the process slows down, which causes nitrates to accumulate. According to the researchers: "The concentration of nitrates in food makes it difficult for the blood cells to transport oxygen."
But what happens when there is rain after a period of drought? According to the researchers, plants that suffered drought stress and are exposed to a lot of rain grow quickly. The rapid growth causes the accumulation of hydrogen cyanide which is also known as prussic acid or cyanide. The cyanide inhibits the flow of oxygen and even a short exposure to minute amounts weakens and endangers the person. The plants where the cyanide accumulates are: corn, cassava (Manihot), sorghum and flax.
Cases of nitrate or cyanide poisoning have been reported in Kenya and the Philippines after eating cassava after extreme rain events. Rains, heat and humidity allow the development of mold species, the most toxic of which is Aflatoxins, a mold known for its devastating damage to embryos, causing blindness and cancer. The mold, which is a species of Phytria, spreads spores with the winds and spreads and poisons large areas.
According to the researchers, about 4.5 billion people, mainly in developing countries, are exposed to mold every year, even if in tiny concentrations and quantities. The researchers say: "We are beginning to understand the magnitude of the problem of toxins facing farmers in equatorial and temperate countries,"
"As the hot zones expand, more countries face the new threat" according to the "International Livestock Research Institute". In 2004 there was an "Alpha" poisoning in Kenya that injured hundreds of people and killed a hundred of them.
The danger exists not only in equatorial countries but "migrates" northwards according to UNEP the risk to Europe increases as the temperatures rise, because when the temperature rises by 2 degrees local crops will be infected with mold and according to the current situation the direction is an increase of more than 3 degrees
According to the spokeswoman of the World Health Organization, "an increase in the concentration of toxins in food crops will severely damage the global health system, a system that is already struggling with food shortages." Tumors with high concentrations of toxins will cause nerve diseases and cancer.'
In order to "advance medicine to Mecca" the researchers suggest to ranchers and farmers to adopt methods to reduce the damage caused by toxins in crops, such as mapping damaged "hot spots", developing methods for understanding and knowing the toxins in the field and above all the adoption and development of crops that will withstand an extreme climate without an increase in the concentration of toxins.
Today there are already research and development centers that are busy developing seeds for edible plants that will be suitable for areas where global warming is hitting and causing damage. Let's hope for success.
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The plant changes, its change is toxic to us, but we are not the ones who define what poison is, but only what is toxic to humans at most) any substance can be toxic, even ordinary air can be toxic to certain animals such as fish for example.
Man simply changes the environment and ecology and therefore becomes unadapted and irrelevant to the different environment he creates. (meaning he destroys himself, by his own actions)
And what about growing in a greenhouse that only increases the heat?
There is no doubt that the world is feeling the greenhouse effect. In Paris floods and in the east as well. According to the forecast of the UN report on the UN website, the Middle East and significant parts of Africa will be unfit for human habitation. We may live in air conditioners, but it is possible that the migrations of peoples that we see and that are attributed to the Arab Spring are at deeper levels possibly related to climate change. If all the glaciers on Earth melt as is happening in Greenland, the ocean level will rise by 13 meters. Enough to flood all the coastal cities of human civilization. When a living species changes the climate in its habitat and doubles itself for the same area unit in 2 years, this is a serious signal. In my opinion, voluntary birth control should be carried out in countries where the birth rate is high, but this is impossible under the educational conditions of these populations and I do not intend to sterilize the population, God forbid.
Well, it's not the end of the world, in Israel wheat is imported from abundant places. The fruits and vegetables are watered (and do not suffer from shortages). Stress situations (distress/shortage) also cause the creation of antioxidants (healthy antioxidants). Sugars, and healthy substances. What is done in the wine vine.
Is it known if the teff plant is one of the problematic plants?
The heat is unbearable, it's time to try extreme ways to cool the world like artificial volcanoes by releasing sulfur to the upper layers