Soil pollution imperils food production
More than 10% of China’s farmland is contaminated, threatening the ability of the world’s most populous nation to feed itself, the official New China News Agency reported.
Excessive fertilizer use and solid waste are among the main pollutants, with heavy metals poisoning about 12 million tons of grain a year, the report said, quoting the Ministry of Land and Resources.
The pollution causes $2.59 billion in losses annually, the government reported.
About 30 million acres have been damaged, at a time when China is losing large amounts of arable land to other uses. The two trends pose a “severe threat” to national food security, the news agency said, quoting an unnamed ministry official.
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