CO₂ Rise Directly Impairs Crop Nutritional Quality

Rising CO₂ levels indirectly affect food availability (e.g., through climate shifts, biological consequences, and shifting socioeconomic systems). Less known is the direct effect of CO₂ on nutrient availability by changing the plant stoichiometry. We help fill this gap, presenting a new methodology and creating the largest meta-analysis on edible plant parts to date, including the most data (5324 entries covering 29,524 observation pairs), crops (43), and (anti)nutrients (32). The results show a pervasive elemental shift across a wide range of species as CO₂ rises. Elements respond differentially, with zinc decreasing the most. Plants with not only a C3 but also a C4 photosynthetic pathway respond. Impacts vary by species and tissue type. This stoichiometric shift can lead to (worsening) malnutrition even in previously sufficient populations. Nutrient security is under threat even if food security remains adequate; food will become more caloric and less nutritious.