There is an Alarming Amount of Microplastics in Farm Soil—and Our Food Supply
Related Mary Beth Kirkham hadn’t studied microplastics when she was invited to co-edit a new book about microplastics in the environment—but something stood out to her about the existing research. “I had read in the literature that . . . cadmium and other toxic trace elements [are] increased when we have these particulate plastics in the soil. So, that was of concern to me,” said Kirkham, a plant physiologist and distinguished professor of agronomy at Kansas State University. Kirkham’s expertise is in water and plant relations and heavy metal uptake, so she decided to conduct her o...