Recent Advances on Microplastics and Nanoplastics Impacts to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2—Zero Hunger: a Systematic Review

Abstract

Plastics are versatile materials whose production and use are growing on a global scale. However, inadequate plastic waste management and its degradation result in the release of small particles, namely microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs), which have adverse effects in physical, biological, and socioeconomic aspects. United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 is related to ending hunger, promoting food security and nutrition, and achieving agricultural sustainability. MPs and NPs may affect the productivity and quality of agricultural products and contaminate foods and beverages from other sources, increasing health risks for human consumers. A systematic bibliographic review was conducted using StArt 3.4 and Excel software to identify gaps and recent advances in selected publications from 2022 and 2023 regarding the impacts of MPs and NPs to UN SDG 2. Then, 310 selected studies that discussed consequences to the agricultural soil, foods, drinking water, and beverages were summarized. The review addressed the recent advances and results regarding sources, occurrence, mobility, and effects of MPs and NPs on soil properties, nutrient cycling, productivity, and quality of agricultural soils. We also explored sources and MPs/NPs contamination of different types of foods, drinking water, and beverages. Hence, we highlighted the presence of plastic particles along the whole food production and consumption, which calls attention to the imperativeness of public policies and changes on plastic waste management cycle. We also reinforce the need for assessing MPs and NPs contamination considering local particularities, such as the climate, most common species, and feeding habits.

Graphical Abstract