“The disappearing nutrient”

An interesting article in Nature says that we’re running out of phosphate across the world.  Phosphate is a very critical nutrient that’s required for plant growth and is usually mined in some parts of the world.  Apparently, there’s less than 50 years worth of high quality phosphate available that could be mined.  Running out could lead to a massive disaster as food production would have to increase with the increasing population.  Some are considering recovering phosphates from animal waste – but that’s still a long a way to go.