The link between CO2 levels and the quality of our food and Trees

The link between CO2 levels and the quality of our food and Trees

In a recent article in Politico 09/13/2017 entitled:

The great nutrient collapse. The atmosphere is literally changing the food we eat, for the worse. And almost nobody is paying attention. By HELENA BOTTEMILLER EVICH

She outlines the current research on this subject. It is an excellent read with a lot of information we all should know. The fact that CO2 levels have been steadily rising over the last few hundred years is not new; what is relatively new is the idea that CO2 levels affect the quality of the food we grow. The study says that they found a correlation between the raising of CO2 levels and the Industrial Revolution.

The Idea of CO2 affecting the global health of plants started with Irakli Loladze in 1998. He was studying algae as a possible food source. He figured that maybe by exposing it to more light than it would grow faster. Well, it did, but it did have an unanticipated effect" that the nutritional levels had dropped. He discovered this drop after the zooplankton, which he was feeding the algae, was starting to starve. What was going on? So he looked at the nutritional levels of the Algae and found the zooplankton was indeed less nutritious. This leads him to think about it could be global effecting grass and cows or rice and people. This leads him to think more about human nutrition.

The real problem is not that plants were getting more light, but that CO2 leveled have raised. Plants need both CO2 and Light. Too much of either is a problem.

After many years of research, he makes this statement, "Every leaf and every grass blade on earth makes more and more sugars as CO2 levels keep rising," Loladze said. "We are witnessing the greatest injection of carbohydrates into the biosphere in human history―[an] injection that dilutes other nutrients in our food supply."

There is lots more great information in this article, basically, how our food is getting less and less nutritional of how we are growing for quantity instead of quality. Many researchers have found that fruits and vegetables have everything from protein to minerals that have been reduced over the last 50 years alone. Remember, higher volume and greater quality do not easily go together.

Another research paper Loladze published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution said that rising CO2 and human nutrition were inextricably linked through a global shift in the quality of plants.

Does any of this sound familiar?

The research is partially right. It is wrong if it doesn't mention the health of the soil. It also doesn't say a word of growing organically. The research never included studies of organic farms.

So let me tell you what the Link is and what is happening.

Let's start with the algae.

It was an excellent idea to grow algae to help feed the world. Light and CO2 work together in the plant kingdom for one reason. The microbial biology uses the CO2 to break down minerals and in turn, make that available.

Over the many years that I have been teaching this, I have tried to explain how everything on earth is interconnected. Making algae grow faster is fine as long as you also make sure the algae is getting its source of minerals. What the experiment did not realize is that the ocean gets its minerals from the soil. Yes, from the soil. How does it do that? Rain is one way. Rain not only brings nitrogen down from the air into the soil but also washes the minerals that the soil is rich in, into the ocean. The ocean then distributes these minerals to every part of the sea through its many inter-connections. Think of the food chain. So if you want the algae to grow faster and still be nutritional, then you must allow for more nutrition, not by fertilizing but by enabling the ocean to be alive and do its thing.

This is very true about the food we eat and the health of trees and other plants.

The Research ties in the Industrial Revolution to the start of the CO2 levels raising and to the beginning of nutritional levels of all plants dropping. The research did not include the nutritional levels of humans, animals, sea life, etc.

The Links are evident to me. What the industrial revolution did was as follows: We started using chemical fertilizers. We started destroying more soil by rapidly developing bad farming habits. The industrial revolution began the increase in toxins. These toxins are now found all over the plants, mainly in the soil. These toxins have done nothing but kill the soil microbial life. Yet we grow more and more, all of which have to be nutritionally deficient for one simple reason: you get out what you put in. Chemical fertilizers are not a complete balanced diet for plants. Plants and humans require over 90 trace minerals. Can you guess how many minerals are in chemical fertilizers? One person told me that the soil has everything the plants need. She was right except for one thing; that is the way Mother Nature set it up, but we have disrupted that. We are all getting weaker and weaker by eating the food of less and less nutritional quality.

Another link is this: more and more of earth’s living creatures have been killed or driven into extinction. It is these animals that through there digestive systems return the earth minerals back into the soil. You will know it as poop as it becomes Mother Natures Compost (also when we die.).

The health of the soil is as important as your body's health. Researchers need to look into organic gardening. The fundamental principle of organic farming is healthy soil. We must help the soil to function again. Returning the soil to life takes time, and so it is essential to start now. The cleanup process will take time, but it will never be completed if we continue to throw toxins around like candy. Yes, feed the algae, but let Mother Nature feed the algae.

any questions send me an email at andylopez@invisiblegardener.com

Don't Panic. It's Organic!

andy Lopez

Invisible Gardener