"#Prices for #OliveOil are surging further in to record-breaking territory after an extended period of unusually dry weather in southern #Europe damaged crops."
"The significant increase in #tomato prices in #India, surpassing 400 per cent, can be linked to crop failure induced by extremely high temperatures and heavy #rainfall.
Volker Turk, the United Nations' human rights chief, "told a UN Human Rights Council debate on the right to #food that #ExtremeWeather events were wiping out crops, herds and ecosystems, making it impossible for communities to rebuild and support themselves.
Turk said world leaders "perform the choreography of deciding to act and promising to act and then get stuck in the short term".
"Cereal production in southern #Europe is expected to fall by up to 60% on last year in the wake of the #Charon#heatwave currently gripping the continent."
"Successive #heatwaves threaten nature’s ability to provide us with #food, say researchers, as they warn of an “unseen, silent dying” in our #oceans amid record temperatures scorching the Earth."
" #India last week suspended exports of non-basmati varieties of #rice after heavy #monsoon rainfall damaged newly planted crops due to be harvested in winter. With rice retail prices up 3 per cent in the past month and 11.5 per cent over the past year, the government hopes to quell food #inflation by reserving more grain for the domestic market."
"Preston said many Canadian farmers are eager to adopt more sustainable means of production, but they need government support. Improving #soil health to make it more resilient to extreme rainfall, and increasing #biodiversity on farms, he said, will go a long way in adapting to a warming planet."
"The greatest challenge posed by #ExtremeWeather right now, agronomists say, is to specialty crops: the #peaches in Georgia and #olives in Spain, for instance, but also #berries in the Pacific Northwest and #cherries in western Michigan, and almonds in California"
"#Oregon’s #cherry harvest, one of the state’s biggest sources of agricultural income, is in dire straits because of #ClimateChange this year, and growers need emergency relief."
#GOP rep:
“Unfortunately, our cherry producers have been facing severe hardships due to unprecedented and adverse weather conditions in Oregon such as ice storms, excessive #heat, and #wildfire smoke impacts caused by a warming #climate.”
"Following atmospheric events such as #floods, #hail and high temperatures, #pear yields in #Italy are down 63% year-on-year, tand the otal supply in Europe is down 13%. According to Euronews, pears have also been affected in France, where the harvest has fallen by 23%.
The harvest of grapes, watermelons, apricots, tomatoes and aubergines in Italy also suffered losses related to the #climate."
"Futures prices for frozen concentrated #OrangeJuice have roughly doubled in the last year to more than $3 a pound and could rise further, prompting warnings that prices are set to surge further on the shelves."
"#Rice prices surged to their highest in almost 12 years" for several reasons.
"Among them: extreme climate from #GlobalWarming, along with the onset of #ElNiño for the first time in seven years, Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain initiative and protectionist food policies in the form of #TradeRestrictions."
"Across much of the country, the #food system also struggled. In #Texas, farmers reported smaller yields as their #corn and #cotton crops struggled to survive soaring summer temperatures. In #Arizona, beekeepers spotted dead #honeybees outside hives. Even underwater, off the coast of #LongIsland, #kelp farmers recorded another year of shrinking yields."
“I feel despair that I cannot harvest even one #crab after a day, when about five years ago, I would have caught about 10 kg to 20 kg (22 pounds to 44 pounds) of crabs.”
"The state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said the storm, which made landfall in Taylor County at Category 3 strength before crossing other areas of rural North Florida, had its biggest impact on such things as #cattle and #poultry operations, followed by #FieldCrops."
"Two years into an “exceptional” #drought—and after nearly eighty days of scorching triple-digit temperatures—Millican, like many #pecan farmers across Central #Texas, expects many of his trees to die this year. He anticipates losing as much as 10 percent of his orchard, nearly a thousand of the farm’s pecan trees. Many of those that do survive will produce a significantly smaller crop, both in number and physical size. "
Soils are warming fast, contributing to crop failures.
"The Earth is heating up, and not just its atmosphere and oceans. The #soil itself is getting warmer, too, leading to more #ExtremeSoilHeat around the planet – along with unclear but ominous consequences for surface dwellers like us.
They found the number of days with heat extremes is increasing twice as quickly in the soil as it is in the air."
"#Drought and #ExtremeHeat waves have halved Spanish #OliveOil production. The price at origin has increased by 112 per cent since last year, but farmers like Jesús Anchuelo of the Small Farmers Union say they're losing money. "
"#Tanzania’s onion limits this year are part of the “contagion” of #food restrictions from countries spooked by supply shortages and increased demand for their produce, said Joseph Glauber, senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute.
Globally, 41 food #ExportRestrictions from 19 countries are in effect, ranging from outright bans to taxes, according to the institute."
"Farmers in the region have long viewed #coffee as a good way to make a living. Today the coffee industry employs more than 14 million people across #LatinAmerica. In recent years, though, #ClimateChange, pests and declining coffee prices have created a perfect storm that threatens the welfare of millions of producers and their families."
"#Climate breakdown is already changing the taste and quality of #beer, scientists have warned.
The quantity and quality of #hops, a key ingredient in most beers, is being affected by global heating, according to a study. As a result, beer may become more expensive and manufacturers will have to adapt their brewing methods."
"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.
"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."
"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."
"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."
"#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."
"[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."
“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."
"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."
"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."
"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. "
"#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. "
#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.”
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."
"#India braces for #heatwaves in Q2, impact seen on #inflation, election.
A heat wave for the third year in a row could dent production of #wheat, #rapeseed and #chickpeas, and also lift power demand above supply during the summer season. India is the world's second largest wheat producer."
"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."
"#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."
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."
"#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%."
@CelloMomOnCars Cavendish bananas were on their way out anyway. They only exist because they ship well, and they are victims of a blight that the climate crisis is only incidental to. We need to give up on bananas outside the tropics...although the hardiness zone for bananas may well be moving north.
"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).
"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. "
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