Insufficient pollination of crops poses a human health risk equivalent to prominent health conditions, threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.
Three-quarters of agricultural crop varieties are pollinated by animals, such as insects, birds and bats. Many populations of key pollinators like bees are in decline and their loss results in lower production of fruit and vegetables.
at Harvard University and his colleagues used data on pollinators, 63 pollinator-dependent crops, international trade, diet and chronic diseases to estimate the human mortality from lost healthy food.
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They calculated that 3 to 5 per cent of global fruit, vegetable and nut production is being lost to pollinator shortfalls, leading to 427,000 excess deaths 鈥� a number comparable to substance use conditions and prostate cancer.
The team鈥檚 modelling also suggested that the economic impact of lost food production is likely to affect lower-income countries more profoundly, whereas the health effects from diet-related diseases will be felt more keenly in middle and higher-income parts of the world.
鈥淚t鈥檚 well accepted that pollinators are an important part of Earth鈥檚 precious biodiversity, and most people have really taken to heart that they play a key role in supporting food supplies and diets,鈥� says Smith.
鈥淎dding the extra dimension of human health introduces an even more urgent imperative to policy-makers: protecting and growing a robust pollinator population not only helps protect key foods, but also supports public health,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 also a compelling economic argument to be made.鈥�
The study builds on previous work estimating that a quarter of the difference in yield between high and low-producing fields was due to a shortfall in pollination.
鈥淚f, in the future, farmers begin to increase yields via traditional methods while pollinators continue to suffer, the percentage of the total yield gap attributable to insufficient pollinators would be greater than 25 per cent, meaning we have underestimated the effect,鈥� says Smith.
A considerable body of research points towards effective strategies to improve pollination, including increasing flower abundance and diversity on farmland, reducing pesticide use and preserving natural habitats.
鈥淧ollinators help agriculture produce one third of the human diet, and these are the most nutritious foods that keep us healthy,鈥� says at Pollinator Partnership, a US non-profit organisation. 鈥淭his research underlines just how critical pollination services are to human health and well-being.鈥�
Environmental Health Perspectives,
