Global warming isn’t just about increased temperatures and faster melting polar ice caps. The damage goes much deeper. Imagine a world without some of your favourite foods – coffee, chocolate, avocadoes and peanut butter – just to name a few. And it gets worse. Here’s a snapshot of just some of the foods going extinct in our foreseeable future.
1. Peanuts
Peanuts might be wiped off the face of the earth by 2030, or become a major luxury item at the very least, by then. Peanut pods are very sensitive plants that require just the right amount of rain, and inconsistent weather patterns are wreaking havoc on them, making them extremely susceptible to droughts and heat waves.
2. Chocolate
Can you imagine a world without chocolate? Not only are we eating chocolate faster than it can be produced, but chocolate producing countries are seeing increased temperatures and less water, causing a major decline in production. The situation is further complicated by the fungal disease frosty pod rot, which is capable of destroying entire cocoa harvests at one go.
3. Honey
Declining honey bee colonies means …. yes, declining amounts of honey. In addition to changes induced by global warming, bees do not have the ability to adapt to pesticides, pests and pathogens.
4. Coffee
Imagine not being able to have that cup of coffee in the morning! Rising temperatures affect Arabica beans, in turn affecting the coffee yields and quality, creating short supply of coffee worldwide. At this rate, in another 60 years or so, coffee might join the list of foods that are extinct.
5. Avocados
Extremely sensitive to drought and reduced water levels, avocados are becoming both expensive and difficult to grow. Goodbye guacamole…
6. Salmon
Some of us might not consider Salmon to be food. But food or not, not only is salmon population declining, but over fishing and destructive fishing practices like trawling are endangering the entire fishing industry (including shellfish) everywhere in the world.
7. Maple Syrup
Maple trees depend on stable weather conditions for proper growth. Today’s unstable and increasingly unpredictable weather is resulting in declining population of the maple trees, as well as less sugary sap. By the next century, there might be no maple syrup to accompany our pancakes and waffles.
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