Quartz magazine online published an article recently describing challenges to food and water safety in the future if climate continues to get warmer. Both water-borne diseases and microbial and chemical toxins in food are expected to increase under those conditions.
For example, aflatoxins are expected to increase in warmer weather. Aflatoxin is “a mycotoxin common in maize, peanuts, tree nuts, and cottonseed grown in warm climates. It is the most potent human liver carcinogen known, and synergizes with chronic hepatitis B virus infection to greatly increase the risk of liver cancer.”
Public health officials are studying how the incidence of these challenges to determine the best courses of action to take to counteract them.
