Climate Change, Food Security, and Human Health: A Comprehensive Analysis of Global Problems and Sustainable Nutritional Plans

Abstract

Climate change is a global phenomenon of widespread significance with far-reaching implications for food security and human health. Climate change—indicated by rising temperatures, shifts in precipitation patterns, and events of extreme weather—is heavily affecting agricultural productivity, availability of nutritious foods, and food system resilience. While simultaneously decreasing staple food nutritional content is matched by an increase in incidents of foodborne disease, it further exacerbates public health issues. This review provides an in-depth review of how climate change impedes food security and impinges upon human health, focusing on the multifaceted ways that climate variables affect nutrition. Focal areas of emphasis include a decline in crop productivity, a reduction in nutrient content of important crops, drought, and an intensified risk of pathogenic invasions of foods. Vulnerable populations including children, pregnant women, refugees, and those in low-income nations face a higher risk of undernutrition, stunting, micronutrient inadequacies, and an emerging dual threat of a potential obese-undernutrition dual burden. To address these challenges, this current review explores innovative and sustainable nutritional solutions. These measures include promoting plant-based diets, biofortification of major crops, reduction of waste, and integration of circular economy philosophy into food production systems. This work further explores the pivotal role of overarching global governance frameworks and policy drives led by international institutions like the WHO, FAO, and UN, while underscoring the role of climate-smart production methods. Future research directions underscore the urgent need for cross-disciplinary collaboration, integration of climate science with nutritional epidemiology, and application of emerging technologies such as AI and precision agriculture to create robust food systems. Finally, this review calls for a unified global effort to ensure food security, reduce health consequences of climate change, and promote sustainable nutrition in all populations, particularly against the growing climate crisis.