Keywords
Nanotechnology · Nanoremediation · Ecotoxicity · Agriculture · The food
industry
1.1
Introduction
Arable land is a limited and, to a large extent, nonrenewable natural resource of
productive and cultural importance. The main component of arable land is the soil,
the characteristics, and use values of which can be sustained and even enriched
through appropriate treatments. Land is a multifunctional asset, which meets many
needs and can be used for different purposes. Currently, resources of cultivatable
land are estimated to be 1530 mln ha globally. A safe operating space is considered
to be an area of 1640 mln ha. The need for arable land is set to grow very quickly and
significantly exceed that safe level. It is estimated that by 2030 an additional
81–140 mln ha of arable land will need to be cultivated. This is above all a result
of dynamic population growth. United Nations data indicates that, by 2100, the
world population will grow by 32% compared to 2017 to reach 11.2 bn (UN 2017).
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO
2009), the global production of cereals will then have to rise by over 70% to meet
nutritional needs. In the face of such data, the search for technologies in the field of
intensification of agriculture or the recovery of land use value through remediation is
a global priority. The green revolution, which in the twentieth century was tasked
with eliminating world hunger through the intensification of agriculture, caused
many environmental changes, including a significant decrease in biodiversity and
the fertility of soil, as well as the pollution of groundwater and the eutrophication of
water reservoirs as a result of the use of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers (Conley
et al. 2009; Grillo et al. 2016; Duhan et al. 2017). Changes in climate, which are
contributing to a decrease in agricultural production, are now a global problem
(Kang et al. 2009; Venkatramanan et al. 2020). As a result of the decrease in
efficiency, the basic prices of food products are rising constantly, which has an
adverse impact on the wealth of the population and even on the health of many
people (Green et al. 2013). Malnutrition accounts for one in three child deaths
worldwide (Bain et al. 2013). In 2016, 815 million people suffered from chronic
malnutrition (FAO 2017). According to the World Food Programme, shortages can
lead to higher rates of mortality than those of diseases of civilization, such as AIDS,
tuberculosis, malaria, and others (Grillo et al. 2016). In addition to guaranteeing
sufficient amounts of foods, a modern, aware society also expects food to be healthy
and to be produced with care for the environment.
The development of a technologically advanced, sustainable system of land
cultivation is necessary, and the use of nanotechnology in order to increase production and allow plants to make better use of nutrients is possible (Chen and Yada
2011; Liu and Lal 2015). The application of nanotechnology may also be a strategy
in limiting or eliminating the adverse impact of modern agriculture on the
2
A. Gorczyca et al.
Nanotechnology · Nanoremediation · Ecotoxicity · Agriculture · The food
industry
1.1
Introduction
Arable land is a limited and, to a large extent, nonrenewable natural resource of
productive and cultural importance. The main component of arable land is the soil,
the characteristics, and use values of which can be sustained and even enriched
through appropriate treatments. Land is a multifunctional asset, which meets many
needs and can be used for different purposes. Currently, resources of cultivatable
land are estimated to be 1530 mln ha globally. A safe operating space is considered
to be an area of 1640 mln ha. The need for arable land is set to grow very quickly and
significantly exceed that safe level. It is estimated that by 2030 an additional
81–140 mln ha of arable land will need to be cultivated. This is above all a result
of dynamic population growth. United Nations data indicates that, by 2100, the
world population will grow by 32% compared to 2017 to reach 11.2 bn (UN 2017).
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO
2009), the global production of cereals will then have to rise by over 70% to meet
nutritional needs. In the face of such data, the search for technologies in the field of
intensification of agriculture or the recovery of land use value through remediation is
a global priority. The green revolution, which in the twentieth century was tasked
with eliminating world hunger through the intensification of agriculture, caused
many environmental changes, including a significant decrease in biodiversity and
the fertility of soil, as well as the pollution of groundwater and the eutrophication of
water reservoirs as a result of the use of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers (Conley
et al. 2009; Grillo et al. 2016; Duhan et al. 2017). Changes in climate, which are
contributing to a decrease in agricultural production, are now a global problem
(Kang et al. 2009; Venkatramanan et al. 2020). As a result of the decrease in
efficiency, the basic prices of food products are rising constantly, which has an
adverse impact on the wealth of the population and even on the health of many
people (Green et al. 2013). Malnutrition accounts for one in three child deaths
worldwide (Bain et al. 2013). In 2016, 815 million people suffered from chronic
malnutrition (FAO 2017). According to the World Food Programme, shortages can
lead to higher rates of mortality than those of diseases of civilization, such as AIDS,
tuberculosis, malaria, and others (Grillo et al. 2016). In addition to guaranteeing
sufficient amounts of foods, a modern, aware society also expects food to be healthy
and to be produced with care for the environment.
The development of a technologically advanced, sustainable system of land
cultivation is necessary, and the use of nanotechnology in order to increase production and allow plants to make better use of nutrients is possible (Chen and Yada
2011; Liu and Lal 2015). The application of nanotechnology may also be a strategy
in limiting or eliminating the adverse impact of modern agriculture on the
2
A. Gorczyca et al.