With climate change becoming an ever-growing issue, scientists around the world have been fighting to find solutions to help mitigate the effects that it will have on our food and researching the roles that food practices might play as a solution. Various parts of the world will be impacted by climate change extremely distinctly from one another, resulting in agricultural systems that have been in place for decades to be vulnerable. This impending disaster will not only affect those local communities but will have drastic consequences when it comes to food scarcity and the global economy.
There are several ways that climate change can impact the agricultural industry; wildfires, drought, and pests are just some of the environmental effects that crops are vulnerable to. Rising temperatures can have positive or negative effects on certain crops, but overall, it leads to weeds and pests becoming widespread due to shorter winters and a drastic increase in evapotranspiration: the process of water being evaporated from the soil or by a plant’s transpiration. According to an article titled “Agronomy for Sustainable Development,” by Miguel A. Altieri et al., this “is likely to intensify drought stress” which would intensify the lack of growth. Climate change will make a significant amount of crops harder to grow which will not only make food more expensive but will also increase food scarcity.
In order to combat the inevitable rise of food prices due to climate change, some scientists suggest that investing in a diverse range of food could help in the short term. Anna Gibbs writes in her article, These six foods may become more popular as the planet warms, about six different foods that are full of carbohydrates, protein, and minerals that could be used in many dishes and are climate resistant. These include popular foods such as muscles and kelp, which live symbiotically to help reduce the acidity in the ocean as well as act as a filter. Gibbs also mentions crops like millet and enset, which although lesser known, have the possibility of becoming a household staple. Food that can adapt to climate change can be more efficiently mass-produced in order to reduce food expenses and food scarcity around the world in the short term.
Although having crops that grow in tough conditions is highly beneficial while the climate continues to change, it, unfortunately, will not decrease food scarcity and the environmental impact of climate change in the long term. In order to more effectively slow down climate change, or even mitigate the effects that humans have had on climate change, diversifying our food selection is not the only change that needs to be made; we also need to change how our food is produced as well. As Altieri et al. stated, “The transformation and democratization of the world’s food system is the best way to adapt to climate change, while simultaneously eradicating hunger and poverty […]”
Currently, the most popular way of farming is by using monoculture practices; a western farming technique that was popularized by Europe in order to mass produce and specialize in one crop. Although it is currently seen as the most effective way to farm, it also plays a huge part in speeding up climate change. Monoculture practices, along with the help of pesticides and modern technology, have significantly increased crop yields at the cost of our ecosystems.
A famous example of how monoculture practices have resulted in a dramatic increase in food scarcity is the Irish Potato Famine. During the mid-1800s, Ireland grew only one type of potato, so when a disease that destroyed the leaves and edible roots of the vegetable spread throughout the country, the Irish were left to starve. This was because monoculture farming leaves crops vulnerable to climate disturbances. In this example, climate change as we know it today did not impact that disaster, but it is an example of what many communities will go through since, “certain insect pests, diseases, and weeds may survive or even reproduce more often each year if cold winters no longer keep them in check.” While looking at how climate change will impact our food, scientists suggest not only diversifying the food products that we put on our shelves but to change how that food is grown. By looking into more diverse ways to produce food, scientists believe that ecosystems have a better chance of being resilient to changes in the climate.
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