14 Follow us on Twitter: @PrairieFarming Better Farming | November/December 2023 MICROPLASTICS & SUPERBUGS ‘Bacteria have been evolving genetic mechanisms to cope with stress for millions of years.’ By Lauren Quinn Like every industry, modern farming relies heavily on plastics. Think plastic mulch lining vegetable beds, PVC pipes draining water from fields, polyethylene covering high tunnels, and plastic seed, fertilizer and herbicide packaging, to name a few. In a new review article, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers say these plastics are now widely dispersed in agricultural soils in the form of microplastics and nanoplastics. That’s not necessarily new; microplastics have been found in nearly every ecosystem and organism on Earth. The twist, according to the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) researchers, is that micro- and nanoplastics in agricultural soil could contribute to antibiotic resistant bacteria with a ready route into our food supply. “Plastic itself may not be very toxic, but it can act as a vector for transmitting pathogenic and antimicrobial resistant bacteria into the food chain,” says Jayashree Nath, author and postdoctoral researcher in the department of food science and human nutrition (FSHN). “This phenomenon is not very well known to people, so we wanted to raise awareness.” If the link between microplastics and antibiotic resistance is less than obvious, here’s how it works. First, plastics are an excellent adsorbent. That means chemical substances and microscopic organisms love to stick to plastic. Chemicals that would ordinarily move through soil quickly – things like pesticides and heavy metals – instead stick around and are concentrated when they encounter plastics. Similarly, bacteria and other microorganisms that occur naturally in soil preferentially congregate on the stable surfaces of microplastics, forming what are known as biofilms. When bacteria encounter unusual Researchers are pushing to understand how microplastics impact our food via the soil. Tracy Miller photo Research The environmental footprint of printed magazines is far lower than of electronic devices. Paper is a renewable resource, is recycled more than any other material, and trees are regrown in managed forests. (Source: www.twosidesna.org) MAGAZINE SUSTAINABILITY
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