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FACTS
Higher CO 2 Levels Reduce Nutritional Value of Rice
Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide will reduce the nutritional value of rice,
says an international research team after analyzing rice samples from field
experiments started by a University of Tokyo professor. Specifically, iron, zinc,
protein, and vitamins B1, B2, B5, and B9 were reduced in rice grown under the
higher carbon dioxide concentrations expected in the second half of this century
(568-590 parts per million). “Rice is not just a major source of calories, but also
proteins and vitamins for many people in developing countries and for poorer
communities within developed countries,” says professor Kazuhiko Kobayashi of
the University of Tokyo, co-author of the recent study. Populations in countries with
both the highest rice consumption and lowest gross domestic product may face more
malnutrition as the nutritional value of
low-cost foods like rice declines. Not
all varieties of rice responded in the same
way, so future research projects may examine
the idea of finding varieties of rice that can stay
nutritious despite atmospheric changes.
—sciencedaily.com
Disease-carrying Pests Carried by Winds to Australia
New research out of Australia shows foreign, disease-carrying pests were
blown hundreds of kilometers across the ocean from East Timor and Papua
New Guinea to northern Australia. The University of Western Australia’s
Institute of Agriculture did the research. It was discovered that a disease
strain found in the Kimberley’s Ord Valley was not found anywhere else on
the Australian continent. Adjunct professor Roger Jones says the match
between zuccini yellow mosaic virus in Australia and East Timor shows
plant diseases can by carried to Australia by monsoonal winds.
“They’re tiny things like aphids, they can be seen with the naked eye,
if they get up high with the winds, they just get blown across,” says
Jones. “It has been recorded before these kinds of aphids; in the
US, they have been recorded blowing from the south to the north
in jet stream winds and settling down and being deposited in crops
which are huge distances away from where they originated.”
—freshplaza.com
New GM Foods Designed with Consumers in Mind
There is a new generation of genetically modified (GM) foods, designed
with the consumer in mind. While many cringe at the idea of GM
foods, they can actually provide health benefits, more flavor, and
longer shelf life. For example, Arctic apples, which hit US stores
in November 2017, are non-browning. There is also the humble
Innate potato, which is less prone to bruising. If you fry it, the
Innate potato produces less acrylamide (a substance suspected
of being a carcinogen) than conventional taters. And there are
blood oranges, which are very beneficial since they contain
antioxidants called anthocyanins. Not to mention lower-saturated
fat rapeseed oil, which has only 3.5 per cent saturated fats — half
the amount in conventional rapeseed oil.
—freshplaza.com
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