Wheat stems physically collapse under their own weight during a nuclear winter, meaning we would have far less food than current models predict.

Most survival simulations assume that if we could just get enough light to plants, we could keep farming after a nuclear war. Experimental tests in growth chambers show that wheat grown in low-light, nuclear winter conditions becomes structurally weak. The stems fail to support the weight of the plant and buckle, leading to a total crop failure that existing models do not account for. This structural collapse happens even if the temperature and water levels are managed. It suggests that the global food supply would vanish much faster than previously estimated, making the aftermath of a nuclear conflict even more catastrophic.