The food we eat is in a complicated relationship with the heat-trapping blanket of fossil fuel pollution that envelopes our planet, causing climate change. On the one hand, increasingly erratic weather is threatening the food that we eat and driving up prices. On the other hand, the way we grow and eat food can help protect us from the climate crisis and even help solve it.
Climate change is driving up food prices and hurting farmers
“Over the past four years, our orchards have been subjected to relentless climate events. Scorching heat waves, unprecedented deep freezes and hailstorms have battered our trees. Blossoms wither, young fruit shrivels, and hope fades.”
Agriculture is an industry that is particularly vulnerable to even minor changes in weather patterns and has been hit hard by climate change. Your higher grocery bills are, to a significant extent, the result of changes in growing season, precipitation cycles, heat and drought all of which hugely affect our food crops.
Here are a few examples of how climate change has harmed BC agriculture and food production in recent years:
These types of impacts don’t occur in isolation, or just in BC, and less dramatic climate impacts can still have an impact on food prices and availability. As scientists are demonstrating, climate change is resulting in food spikes around the world, which will only get worse:
“Recent econometric analysis confirms that abnormally high temperatures directly cause higher food prices, as impacts on agricultural production translate into supply shortages and food price inflation.”
3 ways to build food security and climate resilience
As the global climate gets more out of whack with continued global fossil fuel pollution, it is more important than ever that our communities build local food security and that, where possible, Canadians grow our food locally.
Here are the top three ways you can help build food security in a warming world:
Grow your own food: Community gardens, backyards or even front yards can become productive landscapes, helping ensure that you and your community have access to fresh food, even if disasters elsewhere prevent commercial food supplies from reaching our grocery store shelves. Plus, locally grown food tastes great!
Eat healthy: Eat less meat and more organically produced food. It turns out that what is good for your body is also better for our planet. Meat production takes far more land and fossil fuels than growing plants, while organic food requires less fossil fuels, and in some cases can actually suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, all while helping keep natural systems healthier and more resilient to climate change.
Support local farmers: A strong local farm economy means that your food choices are less vulnerable to global markets.
Conclusion
It’s ironic that many Canadians are more concerned about rising grocery prices but continue to view climate change as a far-off risk. The reality is that a hotter, less stable world is not good for our food systems, and is already driving up what we are paying for food. We experience the impacts of climate change every time we go to the grocery store.
At the same time, we have local solutions, from growing more food locally to adopting diets and food systems that are better for our planet. Prioritizing our local food security is more important than ever.
Want to learn more about the connection between climate change and our food? Check out https://climateatlas.ca/agriculture-and-climate-change
Take Action
The higher costs of food and the increased risks for farmers are no accident. The world’s largest oil and gas companies knew decades ago that burning their products would overheat the planet and unleash the very scenarios we’re now experiencing. They not only knew; they funded massive PR campaigns to deceive the public and sow doubt about climate science — in order to delay the transition to renewable energy and protect their profits.
Meanwhile our communities are left shouldering the costs of climate change while the companies most responsible for causing the crisis reap record profits. If you agree that big polluters should pay a fair share of local climate costs, sign the declaration.