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PORTSIDE CULTURE

BEYOND HUMAN HEALTH: MICROPLASTICS COULD BE A BIG PROBLEM FOR CROP
FARMERS  
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David Silverberg
May 16, 2025
Ambrook.com
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_ New research has found that miniscule pieces of plastic dotting
cropland could be hurting the photosynthesis process and leading to
lower yields. _

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When Eric Cates, owner of Cates Family Farm in Spring Green,
Wisconsin, monitors his cows, he’s carefully eyeing them for one
particular transgression: to ensure they don’t munch on any plastic
garbage thrown from driver windows.

“I’ve seen bags of chips and plastic bags drifting into our
farm,” said Cates, “and we can’t let them eat anything that they
come up on. We don’t want that plastic in their system.”

New research has found that farmers might be up against a more
difficult form of plastics to find that can hurt their yields:
Microplastics are miniscule fragments of plastic products that have
been detected almost everywhere on Earth, from Antarctic sea ice
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to human brains
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Most research on microplastics has focused on its potential
relationship to human health but now more studies have found a
relationship between these tiny plastic pieces and plant health.

A 2024 report
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discovered how this crisis has disrupted the photosynthesis process
across a wide swath of crops, including soybean and corn. The study
from Ninjaing University in Japan, published in_ National Academy of
Sciences USA, _noted how microplastics coverage reduces the
photosynthesis of terrestrial plants by about 1 percent, and by about
7 percent in marine algae.

The study also found that with the current rates of worldwide plastic
production and microplastics exposure, farmers may see a 4 to 13.5
percent yield loss per year in staple crops such as corn, rice, and
wheat over the next 25 years.

The researchers added that a 13 percent decrease in “environmental
microplastic levels could reduce photosynthesis losses by
approximately 30 percent … and the study emphasizes the importance
of incorporating plastic pollution mitigation strategies into broader
sustainability and food security initiatives.”

“The impact of this study is very substantial,” said Richard
Thompson, professor of marine biology at the University of Plymouth
and who, in 2004, coined the term “microplastics.” He wasn’t
involved in the recent research.

He added how microplastics are so nano-sized, it would be “almost
impossible to remove them from the environment, which is why it’s
essential to reduce their use straight from the source.”

Both Thompson and the Chinese study point to several pathways for
microplastics to infiltrate crops: Heavy use of plastics in textiles
and cosmetics leads
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treatment plants pumping out sludge that is often used in farmland as
a nutrient enrichment. Mulch films and fleeces to protect crops are
largely made from plastic. And airborne microplastics can shuttle
through the air from, say, car tires on nearby roads.

The latter pathway can be especially harmful to human health. A report
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from the Center for International Environmental Law noted that
“microplastics often have large specific surface areas and are
predominantly hydrophobic, meaning they repel water. These
characteristics make airborne microplastics a ‘Trojan Horse’
capable of hiding and carrying harmful substances inside the animals
or humans who inhale, absorb, and ingest them.”

Microplastics don’t just hurt a crop’s growth but also its flavor.
A 2023 study
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from Agricultural University in India also found stunted growth in
crops, such as tomatoes, peppered with microplastics. Study author
Periasamy Dhevagi said these particles dwindled seed germination
rates, particularly at higher concentrations. She added, “It was
observed that a concentration-dependent negative [meaning, if the
observed area was high in microplastics concentration] impacts the
physiological, biochemical, growth, yield attributes and fruit quality
of tomato.”

Most significantly, microplastics in the studied crops showed
“metabolic disturbances that can impair growth and reduce resilience
to environmental stresses,” Dhevagi said.

Dhevagi urges for more research into an area of agricultural science
she believes is sorely ignored. “The possibility of microplastics
entering the food chain raises worries regarding food safety and human
health,” she said. “Addressing this issue needs a collaborative
effort among politicians, academics, and the agricultural community to
establish sustainable practices and policies that reduce microplastic
contamination in agroecosystems.”

Thompson, a specialist in microplastic pollution’s impact on marine
life, is hopeful that UN negotiations between 180 countries “who
realize how dangerous microplastics can be,” is close to securing a
binding treaty, despite numerous meetings over the past five years.

Most recently in December 2024, a group of oil and gas producers led
by Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, and other Gulf states, opposed capping
plastic production outlined in the treaty, insisting the regulations
should focus solely on plastics waste management.

With plastic production still rising — projected to nearly triple by
2060 — Thompson is anxious the spread of microplastics in both
agricultural and marine ecosystems will gain too much momentum to be
reversed. He also believes a particular scientific challenge has
blunted the treaty’s progress.

“Many countries still want evidence microplastics can be dangerous
to human health, and studies have only been able to prove association,
not causation, because we can’t do studies on human subjects,”
Thompson said.

Still, he maintains, the microplastics found on plants could end up in
the food we eat. “We already know this happens with other foods
including fish, and questions are in what concentration and how
harmful are they.”

Some farmers are not taking any chances with how microplastics may be
ending up on their land. For now, Cates will still be taking a
hands-on approach to keeping his family farm as plastic-free as
possible. He’ll continue picking up Doritos bags and beer cans flung
near his land, and he’ll also quickly trash the plastic binding
wound around his hay bales.

He pauses thoughtfully when asked if he thinks these new studies on
microplastics will move the policy needle in any way. Two beats. Then
he replies, “If there’s enough outrage out there about
microplastics covering so much farmland, then yeah, I definitely think
these ideas could gain traction.”

DAVID SILVERBERG

David Silverberg is a freelance journalist in Toronto who writes for
BBC News, Agriculture Dive, The Toronto Star, MIT Technology Review,
and many more. He is also a writing coach helping freelance
journalists level up their career. Find him at DavidSilverberg.ca
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* corn
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* pollution
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* microplastics
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