Climate change is quietly lowering the nutrient content of India’s staple crops

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If climate change is quietly taking nutrition away from our food, then it is our responsibility to quietly and consistently bring it back

By Prateek Rastogi

Updated - October 17, 2026 at 10:00 AM.

Climate change is making food less nutritious. | Photo Credit: K K Mustafah

When we talk about climate change, the conversation usually begins with rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, shrinking yields, or food security. Rarely do we talk about something far less visible but equally concerning.

Our food is becoming less nutritious.

For a country like India, where cereals form the backbone of daily diets, this should concern all of us. Millions of families consume wheat, rice, millets and pulses every single day, assuming these staples provide the nourishment they always have. Increasingly, that assumption may no longer hold true.

Scientific studies across the world have shown that rising atmospheric carbon dioxide and changing climatic conditions can reduce the concentration of essential nutrients such as iron, zinc, and protein in staple crops. Add to this degraded soils, repeated monocropping, erratic weather patterns, and declining soil biodiversity, and we are slowly creating crops that may fill stomachs but not necessarily nourish people.

Invisible, quiet consequences

This is perhaps one of climate change’s quietest consequences. It is invisible to the eye, impossible to taste, and rarely discussed. Yet it directly affects public health.

India already faces one of the world’s highest burdens of micronutrient deficiency. Anaemia continues to affect a significant proportion of women and children, while deficiencies of iron, zinc and other essential micronutrients remain widespread. If the nutritional quality of the very foods we depend on continues to decline, the challenge only becomes more difficult.

Over the last few years, I have had the opportunity to spend time with farmers across different parts of the country. One thing has become increasingly evident. Farmers are adapting every season, changing sowing dates, managing uncertain rainfall, and dealing with new pest pressures. But nutrition has rarely been part of the conversation. Most agricultural systems have historically rewarded yield, not nutrient density.

I believe that has to change.

Measuring by nutrition quality

The future of agriculture cannot be measured only by tonnes per acre. It also needs to be measured by the quality of nutrition each acre can produce.

From the beginning, our objective has never been to add nutrients back after harvest. Instead, we need to focus on bringing nutrition back into the crop itself.

We must work with naturally biofortified seeds that have the ability to absorb and accumulate higher levels of nutrients like iron and zinc. Alongside this, we must encourage agronomic practices that improve soil health and nutrient availability, because healthier soils ultimately produce healthier crops.

This is about working with nature rather than trying to correct nutrition after food reaches a factory.

Not a silver bullet

Biofortification is not a silver bullet, nor is it the only solution climate-resilient agriculture needs. Better water management, regenerative farming, improved soil health, crop diversity, and farmer support all have an important role to play. But if climate change is silently reducing nutrition, then agriculture must consciously start rebuilding it.

This requires collaboration across the ecosystem. Plant breeders, agricultural scientists, policymakers, food companies, and farmers need to move beyond thinking only about food production and begin thinking about nutrition production.

Because in the coming decades, the question will not simply be whether we can feed a growing population. It will be whether we can nourish one.

Climate resilience should, therefore, not be defined only by crops that survive changing weather. It should also include crops that continue to deliver the nutrients our bodies need despite those changes.

The future of food cannot simply be about producing more. It has to be about producing better.

As someone working at the intersection of agriculture and nutrition, I remain optimistic. We already have the science, the farmers, and the innovations to make this shift possible. What we need now is greater awareness and collective intent.

If climate change is quietly taking nutrition away from our food, then it is our responsibility to quietly and consistently bring it back.

The author is Co-Founder & CEO of Better Nutrition

Published on October 17, 2026

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