The Impact of Microplastics on Global Food Production: A Brief Overview of This Complex Sector

Abstract

Environmental pollution management combined with food safety represents two of the main challenges of the last decades. Soil and water contamination has historically threatened food safety. As ubiquitous pollutants, microplastics (MPs) have attracted increasing attention over the last few years. These particles can affect the balance of terrestrial, aquatic, and aerial ecosystems. Their negative impacts are intensified when they adsorb and carry toxic chemicals. They can circulate through organisms and accumulate in human beings via food and water. Physiological dysfunctions in all species continue to be reported, both in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This article considers how this might be affecting the global production of food. It reports the adverse effects induced by MPs in soils, their properties and organisms growing within and upon them, including livestock and the pollinating agents necessary for plant growth. A separate section discusses the effects of MPs on aquaculture, mentioning effects on wild species, as well as farmed fish. The growing concern of the food production sector with MPs mimics that of the world with global warming; the danger is real and requires urgent attention.