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Food becoming more calorific but less nutritious due to rising carbon dioxide
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 19 Dec 2025
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The studies are repeating stuff that we've known for 50 years. Higher CO2 levels = plants grow faster due to more efficient photosynthesis. They are able to produce more carbohydrates in the same amount of time. CO2 burners/generators are standard in many high tech greenhouses because of this. We've been artificially increasing the CO2 levels in production greenhouses for decades.
The conclusion that the higher CO2 is going to decrease food nutrition overall is complete bullshit. It shows a complete lack of understanding by the researchers of agricultural practices and the market requirements they sell into.
So the question these researchers are not asking is "What else affects the nutritional quality of food?" The answer is pretty close to everything: genetics, nutrient availability, pest pressure, disease pressure, relative humidity, temperature, light intensity, soil type, soil pH, soil salt levels, soil microbiome, fruit load, plant architecture, storage conditions, storage time, storage temperature, and a shit ton more.
Due to all of these variables, quality standards have been developed to facilitate equitable trade. Every crop has quality standards enforced by government regulation, international treaty, or industry standards in most regions of the planet. Although most of these standards were created without nutrition being a primary concern, they do enforce a surprising amount of regulation by accident.
Rising CO2 levels is one more variable that the growers will have to adapt to maintain their quality standards.