"Over the last 30 years, an estimated $3.8 trillion worth of #crops and #livestock production has been lost due to #disaster events, corresponding to an average loss of $123 billion per year or 5 percent of annual global agricultural gross domestic product (GDP), according to a new report released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (#FAO)."
In case you're wondering why food is getting so expensive.
#ClimateInflation
It's not just about extreme weather, but also about pests and diseases that spread more easily in a warming climate. Food storage also becomes more crucial.
But the bottom line is that food becomes more expensive.
https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2023/10/19/eight-crops-endangered-by-climate-change
"Entire fields have been submerged in water after #StormBabet swept across the #UK, with crops ruined. #ExtremeWeather events are becoming more likely and frequent due to #climate breakdown, and have caused food shortages and price increases.
Last year, farmers faced turmoil because of the extended drought and #ExtremeHeat, which caused crop losses, water shortages and effects on planting and harvesting."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/25/farmers-crops-uk-floods
"Apple season is winding down in New York’s Finger Lakes Region. And would-be pickers may have found less fruit than usual this year.
A warm spell in the early spring lured fruit trees out of their winter dormancy.
Then, on May 18, temperatures plunged into the mid-20s, killing blossoms and baby fruit."
#ClimateInflation
https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2023/11/wild-spring-weather-swings-hurt-new-yorks-fall-apple-harvest/
#ClimateChange makes life less sweet
"Europe’s flooded fields are delaying #sugar harvesting and threatening to wipe out 15% of #beet crops still to be collected in #France, one of the region’s biggest growers of the sweetener.
Dutch farmers still have about 50% of beets in fields.
Harvest delays will probably prolong #Germany’s beet campaign until February, increasing the risk of crop losses to frost."
"The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) thinktank said that global heating was directly contributing to the #CostOfLiving crisis.
Combined with the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine [driving] up gas, energy and fertiliser prices, it said British households had been hit by £605 in additional food costs in 2022 and 2023. While energy prices have fallen back this year, it warned that the impact from the #climate emergency was increasing."
#ClimateInflation
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/27/climate-crisis-energy-costs-fuel-uk-household-food-bill-rise
"In 2023— the hottest year in recorded history— the escalating threat posed by #climate impacts on #food security compounded the global cost-of-living crisis, intensifying challenges already faced by vulnerable countries, low-income consumers and jeopardizing global nutrition levels."
#ClimateInflation #CostOfLiving
https://www.forbes.com/sites/daphneewingchow/2023/12/31/here-are-the-foods-hit-hardest-by-climate-change-in-2023/
"#Farmers and fishers in #Bangladesh’s coastal belt report losses as #climate-induced disasters and coastline changes threaten livelihoods."
"A new study finds that #MarineHeatwaves are changing the base of the marine #food chain, disrupting ecosystems and potentially global food supplies."
https://www.voanews.com/a/study-finds-ocean-heatwaves-could-affect-global-food-supplies/7471051.html
"#Rice prices in the #Philippines continued to rise in January despite slowing overall #inflation, with El Nino and India's export ban promising to exacerbate the trend in the coming months.
Velasquez pointed out poor households have been hit hard by expensive rice, with low earners forced to spend outsized percentages of their income on the grain."
https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Inflation/Philippine-rice-inflation-hits-highest-level-since-2009
Also #ClimateChange is coming for your #chocolate:
"[Cocoa] Prices have doubled during the past year as growers in West Africa — who produce the bulk of global supply — are battered by extreme weather. Earlier rains promoted the spread of crop disease and delayed harvesting. That has been followed by a seasonal dry spell, which could further crimp production."
This is not your staple food, but YOW.
“The results confirmed the industry’s worst fears, with the vast majority of samples showing no signs of life in their primary or secondary buds,” a report by Cascadia Partners for Wines of BC, released this week, says. “This means that the production of 100% #BC #grapes and #wine is projected to be 97-99% lower than usual in 2024."
https://infotel.ca/inwine/okanagan-grape-harvest-wiped-out-for-2024/it103222
"For the 2022 to 2023 harvest, overall European Union #OliveOil production declined by 26 per cent compared to the previous year. This year, it is expected to drop by 39 per cent, the lowest level since the mid-1990s.
Limited supplies have driven prices skywards, with a 115 % increase in #Spain and a 50 % hike in #Greece between 2022 and 2023. Olive oil thefts have increased, with supermarkets resorting to padlocking olive oil bottles to shelves."
https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/olive-oil-climate-change-crisis
"Fruit trees evolved to live in more stable conditions; they’re exquisitely well adapted to the rhythm of a usual year. But instead of reliable seasons, they’re getting weather chaos. As a result, trees’ sense of seasonality is scrambled. And instead of reliable peaches and plums, we’re getting fruit chaos. It may not happen every year, but it’s happening more frequently."
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2024/03/fruit-climate-change-chaos-spring/677701/
"Industry experts say the price of #bananas globally is very likely to rise due to the impact of #ClimateChange — but some believe paying more for bananas now could mitigate those risks. "
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bananas-cost-price-climate-change-experts-say-too-cheap-now/
"#ClimateChange is set to reduce the country’s available #apple-growing regions; the fast-aging population in the country’s rural areas has reduced the number of apple growers; and the country’s complicated and strict regulations on fresh fruit and vegetable imports have effectively blocked apple imports. "
#SouthKorea
https://www.kedglobal.com/the-deep-dive/newsView/ked202403140008
#Vietnam farmers struggle for fresh #water as drought brings salinisation
"The area is crisscrossed by waterways, but the prolonged #heatwave and lack of rain are causing #salinisation -- the intrusion of salt water from the sea -- badly affecting crops in a region vital to feeding the nation of 90 million people."
Higher temperatures mean higher food and other prices. A new study links climate shocks to #inflation
“There are these productivity shocks that we know about from climate change, from the weather phenomena caused by climate change, from heat waves and so forth to reduce agricultural productivity,” Kotz said. “Those also then have a knock-on effect on food inflation, on headline inflation.”
#ClimateInflation
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-03-22/higher-temperatures-mean-higher-food-and-other-prices-a-new-study-links-climate-shocks-to-inflation
Beyond #ClimateInflation: hunger.
In Zimbabwe, "people grow the cereal grain sorghum and pearl millet, crops that are drought resistant and offer a chance at harvests, but even they failed to withstand the conditions this year.
With this year’s harvest a write-off, millions in #Zimbabwe, southern #Malawi, #Mozambique and #Madagascar won’t be able to feed themselves well into 2025."
#hunger
https://www.9news.com.au/world/extreme-drought-in-southern-africa-leaves-millions-hungry/38d2f918-8f2c-42b1-85de-e1f32c6ae0fe
"The United Nations children’s fund says there is a “dire situation” in several eastern and southern African countries, where at least 45 million children are dealing with severe #FoodInsecurity made worse by #ClimateChange."
#UNICEF #hunger
https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/unicef-climate-change-leaves-dire-situation-for-45-million-african-children/7552463.html
"#UK #harvests of important crops could be down by nearly a fifth this year due to the unprecedented wet weather farmers have faced, increasing the likelihood that the prices of bread, beer and biscuits will rise.
Some farms were badly affected by persistent rain since October, meaning they have not been able to plant any crops, while the wet weather has significantly depleted the amount other farms have been able to plant."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/29/washout-winter-spells-price-rises-for-uk-shoppers-with-key-crops-down-by-a-fifth
#ClimateInflation
Drought is driving #OliveOil prices to staggering new heights
"#Spain, which is the world’s largest olive supplier and home to 40% of the global crop, has been dealing with droughts that have cut output by anywhere from 30% to 50% of its usual 1.3 million metric-ton harvests.
In February Spanish farmers were calling on the government to do more to fight #ClimateChange amid persistent #heatwaves that have decimated their trades."
https://qz.com/olive-oil-prices-climate-change-1851458811
#ClimateInflation
"#Bananas are at risk of a “devastating” disease as extreme heat and volatile rain cycles put the plants under stress, Colombian farmers have warned.
Small-scale producers in the northern Magdalena region who supply bananas to the UK say the impacts of #ClimateChange have increased their costs and hit yields by as much as 50%."
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/life-banana-pip-columbia-el-nino-b2543239.html
#ClimateInflation
"Global warming is leading to smaller yields and poorer quality in #rice crops, according to new research that suggests rice harvests could decrease by up to 35% and quality by up to 85% compared to plants in 1990s climate conditions.
The research suggests that additional high CO2 concentration further worsened production compared to the high temperature alone."
(So much for that claim that CO2 is "plant food" eh).
https://www.yahoo.com/news/study-rice-harvests-quality-worsening-195323415.html
#ClimateInflation
#ClimateChange comes for your #Avocados
"Researchers at the charity Christian Aid said that a hotter, drier world would make it more difficult to provide the significant amount of water needed to grow the fruit.
Mexico, the world’s biggest producer, could see its potential growing area reduced by 31 per cent by 2050 - even if global average temperature rises are limited to under 2C, according to the report. "
"Global warming is bringing on a succession of negative effects on a range of marine creatures across #Japan, such as the relocated habitats of fish and fluctuations in #seafood catches.
Concerns are growing that the summer #heatwave expected this year as well may further exacerbate the situation.
The total seafood catch in Japan has been on a continuous decline."
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15244124
#ClimateInflation
"“Two years ago, we produced 500 tons of oil, and last year, 70,” he said. “The reduced production shattered my dreams.
Athanasios Molasiotis, a professor of agronomy at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, said that higher-than-usual temperatures, which are attributed to #ClimateChange, are affecting the Greek #OliveOil sector in multiple ways."
Where this is going:
This study on "Global impacts of heat and #water stress on #FoodProduction and severe food insecurity" says that if we keep emitting carbon like we do now, 1.36 billion extra people will experience "severe food insecurity" by 2050.
That's 17% of the world population.
This is what #ClimateInflation looks like:
People in the heartland of olive oil - Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece - are consuming less of it: as harvests have gone down, prices have soared.
https://www.ft.com/content/9b284294-1c76-46a0-9fe7-97ea94542c68
Drought, early frosts, and birds who can't find enough insects to eat in the drought all contribute to a "horror season" for #NewZealand #olive growers.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/520499/horror-season-for-many-olive-oil-producers
"A third of the food price increases in the UK in 2023 was down to climate change, according to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit think-tank."
https://www.ft.com/content/125e89c0-308a-492f-ae8e-6834847d1186
That's ... a lot.
For the UK, that's called #ClimateInflation .
For developing countries that spend more of their budget on food (and where the ability of growing food is closer to the temperature limits), this could spell real trouble.
"Many [wheat] farmers saw a decline in crop production.
Al-Akhras and others like him say that decades of conflict in #Syria and #ClimateChange are to blame. And we can see the evidence all around the country."
"Portions of Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska are grappling with the aftermath of #flooding, while continuing to fight a swollen river. The Mississippi River is facing flood threats, too. The high waters and flooding are suffocating fields, causing #CropDamage to key growing areas across the Midwest."
You know all this will contribute to #ClimateInflation
And yet.
Whem the article talks about where does all this water come from?
"High pressure"
"Cold front"
"Gulf Moisture"
"Recycle local moisture"
and even
"An unbroken jet stream flow from Japan"
But not a single word about global warming.
"Different parts of [#China] are being simultaneously hit by floods, droughts and tropical storms, threatening to spur food #inflation if output of wheat, soybeans, rice and corn is affected.
Major rice-growing areas in the south have been soaked by flooding, while droughts further north have damaged wheat and delayed corn and soybean planting."
"Futures for [robusta] have surged about 60% this year, touching a fresh high of $4,667 per ton. Concerns about the next harvest are adding to supply fears after hot and dry weather in parts of #Vietnam damaged #coffee trees earlier this year.
#Brazil’s top growing regions have also faced the brunt of harsh weather, pushing up arabica prices. Some farmers pick smaller-than-usual beans following droughts in late 2023 that hurt crop development."
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-09/coffee-prices-will-keep-rising-into-2025-roaster-lavazza-says
#ClimateInflation
Drought and heat in #Mexico:
"In January 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture (SADER) estimated a 20 to 40 % reduction in corn production directly due to the drought. By March and April, more products, including coffee beans, were at risk. And by May, some dams in the northwest portion of the country were below 20 percent capacity, endangering crops like corn and sorghum."
Beyond "#ClimateInflation: hunger.
One in 11 people went hungry last year. #ClimateChange is a big reason why.
“The agrifood system is working under risk and uncertainties, and these are being accelerated because of climate [change] and the frequency of climate events,” Máximo Torero Cullen, of the FAO, said. It is a “problem that will continue to increase,” he said, adding that the mounting effects of warming on global food systems create a human rights issue.
“Climate change drives [#coffee] prices up
There’s a drum beat in the background that is #ClimateChange, and that is causing problems,” he said. “That will affect the stability of the market and that’s not going to go away for a long time.”
https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/01/business/your-coffees-about-to-get-more-expensive-heres-why/index.html
#ClimateInflation
"Key #crops from potatoes and onions to wheat and sugar are being hit by damaging heat, drought and floods around the world, pushing up prices and threatening food security, [ECIU] says.
But while it “is tempting” to suggest that the UK should increase domestic production to make up for poor harvests abroad, #Britain too is struggling in the face of #climate impacts, the organisation said."
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/mediterranean-western-europe-egypt-spain-europe-b2593291.html
#ClimateInflation #UK
"The drought has prompted about a third of the countries in southern Africa to declare a state of disaster. A massive 68 million people across the region need food aid. "
"#SouthKorea’s famous #kimchi is falling victim to #ClimateChange, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa #cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures."
"On an annual scale, the greatest losses affected spring and winter cereal crops – in the Podlaskie and Mazovian voivodeships, where even 50-74% of the cultivated area struggled with a water deficit. Significant water shortages were also recorded in the cultivation of fruit bushes, strawberries, rapeseed, fodder rape, corn, and leguminous plants. Many farmers in regions affected by drought can expect lower yields this year."
https://wodnesprawy.pl/en/the-drought-in-poland-this-summer-has-not-been/
#Poland #drought
" Despite record heatwaves, floods and storms across much of South-east Asia in 2024, more people in the region are concerned about bread-and-butter issues such as #FoodSecurity than about #ClimateChange, according to a new survey."
People need help connecting the dots: that climate change has effects on their grocery bills.
That's what this #ClimateInflation thread is about.
“Our #citrus growers are resilient, but after fighting citrus greening for nearly two decades and having three major hurricanes in the past seven years devastate the heart of our growing region, growers are weary,” he said in a statement Friday.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-12/florida-orange-growers-were-set-for-a-turnaround-then-hurricane-milton-hit
#Florida #oranges #HurricaneMilton
Farmers Worldwide Hit by Climate Change
"Globally 75 percent of #farmers are already impacted by #ClimateChange or are worried about its impacts, and 71 percent say reduced yields are a major concern. Six out of 10 have already experienced significant revenue loss due to abnormal weather events.
Spanning eight countries — China, Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Kenya, Ukraine and the U.S. — the survey interviewed over 2,000 farmers between June and July."
https://www.stdaily.com/web/English/2024-10/10/content_240501.html
"A lack of #water is a hidden and growing driver of #hunger that affects one in every 11 people, the WRI said. Rice, wheat and corn — which make up more than half of the world’s food calories — are particularly vulnerable, with a third of those crops grown using highly stressed or variable water supplies.
Water scarcity could cause high-income countries’ #GDP to shrink by 8% by mid-century and a drop of up to 15% in poorer countries, it said."
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-10-18/global-food-roundup-water-stress-threatens-quarter-of-crops
#ClimateInflation
Hotter summers in Japan are hard both on rice crops and on the aging farmers growing them.
"Last year, #Japan recorded a poor #rice harvest nationwide because of exceptionally hot weather. Ministry data showed the country’s private-sector rice inventory fell to 1.56 million tons in June, the lowest level since records began in 1999."
"#SouthSudan is [a] #ClimateChange hotspot. A significant concern is the increasing emergence and incidence of crop pests that threaten the plant health and livelihoods of approximately 86% of rural households which depend on agriculture.
Common pests include elegant grasshoppers, bollworms, cassava whiteflies, cutworms, African armyworms, stalk borers, and aphids.
The fall armyworm is one of the invasive pests in South Sudan associated with climate change."
"The #Philippines is set to be drenched by its fourth storm in just over a month, which threatens to add to a growing tally of crop losses that total at least 11.5 bn pesos (US $97 million) this year.
#TyphoonYinxing — known locally as Marce — is forecast to bring more than 200 millimetres (8 inches) of torrential rain to Cagayan province.
Nearly 1.1 million hectares of rice and corn crops could be affected by Yinxing, according to the agriculture department."
"Europe is grappling with a severe #cereal production crisis, exacerbated by adverse weather conditions, high production costs with stable prices, low quality of output, and stiff competition from Ukraine.
“This season was particularly challenging due to a series of adverse weather events for harvest,” he added, highlighting how droughts in Southeastern Europe and excessive autumn rainfall have negatively impacted both quantity and quality of harvests."
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/11/20/europe-faces-growing-crisis-in-cereal-production
#wheat #maize
"Some British retailers and wholesalers have been forced to switch to sourcing #oranges from South Africa and South America early after last month’s catastrophic floods in eastern #Spain left farmers struggling to harvest and ship their crops."
This leads to #ClimateInflation in your grocery bill.
(Also, know the seasons of your produce.
So you don't have to buy them from the *other hemisphere*).
