Crop nutrition

Alarmists often claim that studies show more atmospheric carbon dioxide causes a decline in the nutrient content of food crops. However, the asserted decline in nutrients is minor compared to the substantial gains in crop yields. Hunger is a greater global problem than minor nutrient intake. Also, the minor decline in nutrients likely reflect that more food production is being produced per unit of soil and per unit of nutrients in the soil. This can be readily addressed by soil fertilization. Ultimately, when alarmists warn about minor declines in nutrition, they are arguing that it is better to have much less available food – with slightly higher minor nutrients – than it is to have abundant food supplies. Such an argument is highly dubious.