How does environmental pollution affect food security and crop yields?

• A. Pollution reduces soil fertility, contaminates crops with heavy metals or pesticides, and harms pollinators, reducing yields.
• B. Pollution improves soil fertility and attracts pollinators.
• C. Pollution only affects water, not crops.
• D. Pollution has no impact on crop yields.

Answer: (B)

Pollution affects farming systems by degrading soil health, contaminating crops, and disrupting pollination, which lowers yields and threatens food security. Pollutants can reduce soil fertility by altering nutrient availability and harming soil microbes that drive nutrient cycling, while heavy metals and persistent pesticides can accumulate in soils and plant tissues, leading to toxic effects and poorer crop performance. Pesticides and other pollutants can also harm beneficial insects like pollinators, which many crops rely on for fruit set and high yields; without adequate pollination, crop yields decline. Although water pollution can compound these problems, the overall impact on soil, crops, and pollinators makes pollution a major factor reducing both yields and the safety of food supplies. The other options suggesting pollution improves soil, affects only water, or has no impact do not fit the observed realities of agricultural ecosystems.