However, the publication reflects the views of the young academic and not the institutional views of GRF or the individual positions of the commission members. [...] There were many factors that led to large increases in yields, including selective breeding and genetic modification to achieve high yielding varieties and the use of pesticides and fertilizers to protect crops from pests and supplement the necessary nutrients in the soil to foster plant growth. [...] The irregularity of rainfall regimes is already evident today, and a few examples can be noted from the summer of 2022: Spain and Portugal suffered their driest climates in 1,200 years; one of the longest rivers in Italy, the Po, which supplies water for nearly a third of Italy’s agricultural production, faced extraordinary drought; and extreme rainfall in South Africa caused flooding and landslid. [...] In fact, almost 90% of global deforestation is due to food production and animal husbandry.17 So, a strategy that aims to increase the amount of arable land at the expense of lower crop yields with the use of less pesticides (PPPs) is not a sustainable option. [...] The risk of PPPs to human health is considerably lower than that of nutritional imbalance, i.e., higher sugar and fat and lower intake of the antioxidants, vitamins, and fibers that are found in fruits and vegetables.
- Pages
- 36
- Published in
- Türkiye
