A study has claimed that insufficient pollination of crops poses a human health risk equivalent to prominent health conditions, threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.
The global loss of pollinators is already causing about 500,000 premature deaths per year by reducing the supply of healthy foods, according to the study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Three-quarters of crops require pollination, but many insect populations are rapidly declining.
The study evaluated dozens of pollinator-dependent crops using data from the global farm study. It was discovered that insufficient pollination was responsible for about a quarter of the difference between high and low yields. Inadequate pollination has resulted in a three to five per cent loss of fruit, vegetable, and nut production, according to the study. Scientists estimate that pollinator loss is now responsible for about one per cent of all deaths due to a decrease in consumption.
The researchers took into account fatalities from conditions like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and various types of cancer, all of which can be decreased with better diets. The study is the first to calculate the cost of a lack of wild pollinators on human health.
It further states that the analysis was based on information from hundreds of farms across the world, data on yields and health concerns associated with eating, and a computer model that monitors the international food trade.
The majority of the effects, according to the researchers, were in China, India, Russia, and Indonesia, where cancer, heart disease, and strokes were already common due to unhealthy diets, smoking, and insufficient exercise. The study notes that people in wealthy countries might still afford to eat healthily even if the price of the items increased owing to lesser output.
Dr. Samuel Myers, at Harvard University’s TH Chan School of Public Health and senior author of the study, told The Guardian, “This research establishes that loss of pollinators is already impacting health on a scale with other global health risks factors, such as prostate cancer or substance use disorders.”
He said that there is a solution in pollinator-friendly practices which include increasing flower abundance on farms, cutting pesticide use, and preserving or restoring nearby natural habitats. However, the researchers of the study added that “immense challenges remain” in restoring pollinator populations globally.
“A critical missing piece in the biodiversity discussion has been a lack of direct linkages to human health,” said Dr Samuel Myers, at Harvard University’s TH Chan School of Public Health and senior author of the study. “This research establishes that loss of pollinators is already impacting health on a scale with other global health risks factors, such as prostate cancer or substance use disorders.”
“But there is a solution out there in pollinator-friendly practices,” Myers said. These include increasing flower abundance on farms, cutting pesticide use, especially neonicotinoids, and preserving or restoring nearby natural habitats.
“When these have been studied, they pay for themselves economically through increased production.” Nonetheless, the researchers said “immense challenges remain” in restoring pollinator populations globally.
