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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".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 04 2016, @04:28AM
The TLDR is potatoes are not viable above 85F or 30C
Well lots of people grow them where I live and summer temperatures average above 32C. We grow them all year round. None of us are doing so commercially. My potatoes tend to be small and a little bit scabby, because I'm not great at watering and we've been drought stricken a few years. They're still food though and quite tasty actually. My neighbours who tend their plants better than me have big beautiful potatoes that are much better than what is typically available in stores. Grown organically of course.
I think what the article meant to say is that certain foods will no longer be viable to produce commercially according to the modern brain dead industrialised food production techniques because of global warming. The earth is healing itself.
Sooner or later, you humans are going to have to accept that your experiment of collecting in cities and centralising production while most of you do "work" that entails sitting on your arses and interacting with computers in ultimately non-productive ways is a pretty dumb experiment and as any idiot could have told you, it doesn't work. Stop expecting to be able to do absolutely nothing productive with your life and still get fat off of chocolate and beef. You're being fattened for the slaughter, fattest will die first.
Just a friendly public service message from an intergalactic visitor who thinks you guys are all nuts but who sticks around for the weather. You have a beautiful planet, many of you don't seem to have noticed.