Climate Change Turns Rice Toxic: Arsenic Threat Looms for Billions

• Rising heat and CO2 levels are causing rice to absorb higher amounts of toxic arsenic, posing a severe health risk.
• An international study published in The Lancet Planetary Health reveals this climate-driven change could lead to heart disease, diabetes, and various cancers.
• Asian countries like India, China, Indonesia, and Vietnam face the biggest threat, with dangerous arsenic levels projected by 2050.
• Other crops like wheat and pulses will lose nutritional value and accumulate toxic elements like lead, increasing global malnutrition risk.
• Solutions include reducing emissions, developing arsenic-resistant rice, and promoting climate-resilient foods like millets, seaweed, and sweet potatoes.

Why It Matters: Climate change is making staple foods like rice toxic and reducing crop nutrition, demanding urgent action and alternative food strategies.