As the heat wave is currently sweeping Europe. It’s hard to ignore that temperatures previously thought as unthinkable in our latitudes will become the norm rather than the exception in the years and decades to come.
Climate change has wide-ranging effects and we’ll present you in that article how it may disrupt what is on our plate
1 – Wine get more alcohol content because of the warmer weather and the grape ripen earlier
Wine is a very good indicator of climate change. It already changed over the past few decades and it will change more. A warmer weather is going to make the grape ripe faster. In some region harvesting takes place up to three weeks faster which in turn leads to more alcohol content. The wine went from 11.5 degrees on average in the 1980s, to 14 sometimes 15 degrees.
2 – The cost of food may go up or down some as in carbon dioxide (CO2) may increase the productivity of pastures, but may also decrease their quality.
The impact of climate change on agriculture is going to be significant. On the one side, we have the CO2 as a fertilizer. On the other side, we have extreme weather, water stress, and changes in the ecosystem.
This is going to have consequences on the price of food and the quality of it.
3 – The taste of the food will change
Here again the effect is hard to predict. If we take livestock, a very complex ecosystem with millions of interactions. Some pests, parasites, and microbes will thrive under the new environment and other not. Over the lifetime of the animals, this would build up to some significant changes onto the final product delivered.
4 – The map of agriculture is going to change and will move northward
The natural boundary of agriculture is going to change. I can’t recount the number of stories I have heard about wild species being now cultivated in Switzerland. From olive trees to kiwi to spirulina and other exotic species.
The milder climate makes economical the cultivation of previously exotic species. These effects of climate change on agriculture and food supply are likely to be similar to those seen in the United States.
However, other stressors such as population growth may magnify the effects of climate change on food security. In developing countries, adaptation options like changes in crop-management or ranching practices, or improvements to irrigation are more limited than in the United States and other industrialized nations. Submit
5 – Some fish and shellfish will move northward
A few decades from now, the ranges of many fish and shellfish species may change. Several economically important species have shifted northward since the late 1960s.
Some scientists believe that this northward movement is a response to climate change, as the oceans warm. As the climate continues to change, it is likely that the ranges of many fish and shellfish species will continue to change as well.
This could have major implications for the fishing industry, as well as for what options are left to our grand children.
Sources:
https://www.letemps.ch/sciences/rechauffement-climatique-oblige-vin-sera-plus-plus-alcoolise#:~:text=R%C3%A9chauffement%20climatique%20oblige%2C%20le%20raisin,de%20deux%20%C3%A0%20trois%20semaines.
https://climatechange.chicago.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-agriculture-and-food-supply#:~:text=Climate%20change%20can%20disrupt%20food,result%20in%20reduced%20agricultural%20productivity.
