Climate Change Endangers Food

A recent report by the Asian Development Bank, titled Food Security and Poverty in Asia and the Pacific, has highlighted that the climate change will have a devastating impact on food security. According to the report:

Climate change is a major contributing factor in the battle to provide food security in Asia and the Pacific. Growing pressure on ecosystems to produce food, as well as changing temperature and precipitation patterns, will have unpredictable and deleterious effects on existing food-producing resources. The continued or increased occurrence of extreme weather events will further exacerbate vulnerabilities of communities and natural systems.

At the very best case scenario, the costs of endangered foods will hike and in the very worst case scenario, the food could be gone forever. What foods face endangerment? Read below to find out:

Chocolate: According to the International Center For Tropical Agriculture,  the rising temperatures in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, where the world’s majority cocoa is grown, are a point of concern for the future of chocolate. Even a two degree fluctuation could decrease suitability for cocoa growth, making it vital for farmers to adapt to the rising temperatures. Scientists have speculated that by 2050, most of the land currently used to harvest cocoa will be unsuitable.

Coffee: Climate change is decreasing the supply chain of Arabica coffee beans – a point Starbucks raised last year to The Guardian. Starbucks wrote on their website that “in addition to increased erosion and infestation by pests, coffee farmers are reporting shifts in rainfall and harvest patterns that are hurting their communities and shrinking the available usable land in coffee regions around the world.”

Beer: Climate change induced water shortages and crops that cannot withstand the rising temperatures are creating havoc on beer production. Scientists are currently searching all over for new breeds of crops that can potentially withstand rising temperatures.

Peanut Butter: Last summer’s heat has had an effect on this year’s peanut butter supply. The heat caused the crop to fail, resulting in a shortage in peanut supplies. And in addition to rising prices for peanut butter, according to NPR, peanut butter consumption has hiked since 2008.

Italian Pasta: The British Meteorological Office has stated that Italy may soon need to import ingredients required to make pasta since the climate change will soon prevent the country from growing durum wheat locally. In fact, the scientists have warned that the crop could disappear from Italy altogether.

Maple Syrup: Climate change has been causing longer stretches of warm weather and shorter stretchers of cold weather. The shorter cycle of below freezing weather results in a shortage of sap required to make maple syrup.

Honey: With the population of bees dropping nationwide due to starvation and malnourishment. This ultimately leads to a shortage of honey. But what’s potentially worse is that bees also pollinate crops – crops that will die if bees continue to decline.

Wine: Thanks to the climate change, the South of France – which is infamous for it’s grape growing – may no longer be able to produce Bordeaux wines by 2050. Higher temperatures cause grapes to mature faster resulting in a flavor change. Too chilly of temperatures results in acidic taste and too warm of temperatures produce heavy wines.