In her article We Need to Talk About Food Prices, a professor of nutrition and global health at George Washington University writes:
If we want more U.S. residents to raise their voices about climate change, focusing on fossil fuels won’t get us there. We need to talk about something much more tangible, immediate, and universal to all: food.
Dr. Uriyoán Colón-Ramos says there was a 5.8% surge in food prices last year, and a 2.9% increase is projected for 2024 despite a slowdown of inflation rates. She says climate change is “the one constant and increasing factor” in rising food prices, while armed conflict and inflation are other factors.
Rising food prices should be our constant reminder of the havoc that climate change is causing. In 2023, extreme weather, such as heat waves, droughts, and floods, was the main disrupter of food prices, causing widespread damage to crops and livestock globally.
The professor says corn, wheat, rice, and potatoes are among the crops “most susceptible to changes in weather patterns.”
Scientists expect that we will start feeling the effects of the weather on rice in the next 15 years, with rice yields decreasing up to 40% by the end of the century.
According to NASA climate projections, by 2030, increases in temperature and changes in rainfall patterns will cause significant reductions in the nutritional quality of wheat and a 24% reduction in maize yield.
She also says fruits and vegetables have contributed significantly to the rise in grocery prices, and are affected by climate change.
Heat waves can scorch fruits and vegetables. A rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere also causes changes in the micronutrient content of popular produce like strawberries and tomatoes.
She points out that “an additional 1 degree Celsius rise in Earth’s temperature could cause crop failures across 3.2 million acres in the U.S. alone, according to one recent study.”
There’s also the taxpayer burden in bailouts to farmers. Droughts, floods, and other severe weather events were cited as the most expensive reasons for crop loss, totaling over $118.7 billion in 2021-22.
To help people understand the effect of climate change on their daily lives, the professor suggests: “First, don’t talk about climate change.”
Instead, connect through food, a topic which makes climate change feel “personal, immediate, and urgent for everyone.”
Commiserate with the people you know about rising food prices. Food is powerful, and people across all walks of life can rally around protecting their access to it.
