Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Monday October 03 2016, @01:06PM   Printer-friendly
from the do-you-want-[endangered]-fries-with-that? dept.

Some of our favorite foods and drinks could be considered "endangered" because the places where they are grown are being severely impacted by climate change. If this isn't proof that we need to do something about climate change, I don't know what is. To start off, here are a few foods that are part of our every lives that might not be around for long.

  • Coffee
  • Chocolate
  • Beer
  • Maple Syrup
  • Seafood: Lobsters and Salmon
  • Peanut Butter
  • Potatoes

What can we do about it?

Some farmers and researchers have started looking into bringing back ancient or near-extinct crops that might be better suited for this new reality.

Amaranth is one example. Once considered a sacred grain by the Aztec, amaranth was banned by the Spanish because it was used in sacrificial ceremonies.

[...] Cultivated in Ethiopia for more than 7,000 years, the enset plant is known as the "false banana" because of its similarity to the banana tree. It can withstand heavy drought and heavy rain, making it a plant that can naturally withstand climate change. [It] produces two times more food per unit of land than cereal crops.

[...] While most plants making a comeback are known for being drought resistant and having a high tolerance for heat, other plants (like taro) can be grown in flooded areas, a concern for rising sea levels in Asia and other parts of the world.

[...] Some believe that [...] seed banks are the best way to prepare for climate change. John Torgrimson, executive director of the Seed Savers Exchange in the United States, told Truthout that "while not every traditional variety tastes great or looks great, its genetics may be invaluable 50 or 100 years from now when the climate is different. There are qualities in varieties that we don't even know about. It might be resistant to a particular disease; it may grow well in a particular region; it may have certain traits that will allow us to deal with climactic conditions going forward. Diversity is an insurance policy".


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by edIII on Monday October 03 2016, @09:33PM

    by edIII (791) on Monday October 03 2016, @09:33PM (#409672)

    Yes, but when there are no more:

    French fries, Reese's pieces, mocha coffee, pancakes with Canadian Maple Syrup AND peanut butter, potatoes lyonnaise/au gratin, sandwiches with mayo in it, etc.

    We're coming to kill you :)

    That's the price of your belief. When all of your brothers and sisters are looking at you for not standing up with us, and we all suffer the stark realization that the aforementioned food just became literally super rich people's food, we're going to brutally fucking kill you. Then possibly eat you. This future is a culinary Dystopia, but then so are most Dystopias, but this one even more so.

    Why did we lose the tasty food? You were too fucking stupid and easily played by the elites to realize that we must change soon, or the world will start changing must faster than we can handle, and in ways we simply cannot handle. All so the elites can make a little more money.

    Greed will take it all from us. Thanks, asshole.

    --
    Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by khallow on Monday October 03 2016, @09:43PM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday October 03 2016, @09:43PM (#409677) Journal

    Yes, but when there are no more:

    French fries, Reese's pieces, mocha coffee, pancakes with Canadian Maple Syrup AND peanut butter, potatoes lyonnaise/au gratin, sandwiches with mayo in it, etc.

    We're coming to kill you :)

    Bring it on, internet tough guy. The reality is that the crops will just be grown somewhere else. This concern over disappearing crops that can easily be planted elsewhere is so stupid it's not worth respect. Surely, you use your brain for something other than heating your skull.

    And with the amount of psychopathy you routinely display with your posts, don't you have something to do, like run a corporation into the ground? I keep hearing how easy it is for psychopaths to become CEOs of major corporations. Surely, you could use your positive outlook on life for good not evil.