The Great Nutrient Collapse

What experiments indicated that plants being bred for swift growth lose nutrients?

Mathematician Irakli Loladze noticed in an experiment testing the growth of algae under extra light that – although the algae grew faster and more plentifully – the zooplankton eating it were “struggling to survive.” Loladze designed a mathematical model to find out why consuming more algae did not help the zooplankton. He discovered that their nutrition was depleted. The faster-growing algae no longer provided sufficient nutrients for the zooplankton to thrive. Loladze turned his attention to how breeding plants for swift growth and high yields could affect the world’s food chain. He found that excess CO₂ has a similar effect on plants as excess light; with overexposure, plants make more sugars – carbohydrates – and fewer nutrients. Scientists...