Researchers warn of catastrophic consequences from rapidly intensifying threat: 'As a species, we have never confronted anything like this'
Sustained higher-than-average temperatures and warming seas are projected to severely disrupt agriculture, CNN reports, and scientists are concerned about how to "ensure future food security" in a changing climate.
What's happening?
Americans born today could "live in a world where the U.S. can only produce half as much of its key food crops," CNN's recent headline read.
The ensuing reporting focused on a groundbreaking study recently published in Nature — one of the most widely cited scientific journals globally — and the outlet described its findings as "stark."
Study authors examined the impacts of rising temperatures through a universally understood and relevant lens: the global food supply.
Put plainly, the researchers' calculations were grim: Every 1°C (1.8°F) increase in average global temperatures will result in a worldwide reduction in food production equivalent to 120 fewer calories per person, per day.
Study author Solomon Hsiang of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability broke it down further when discussing their findings. "If the climate warms by 3 degrees, that's basically like everyone on the planet giving up breakfast," Hsiang warned.
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Why is this study about climate and crops so important?
It's well-documented that climate-related matters are routinely and misleadingly cast in doubt, framed as a matter of belief rather than settled science.
Not everybody lives in a region routinely walloped by extreme weather — such as wildfires or increased coastal flooding — and the issue can seem abstract, localized elsewhere, or more of a problem for the distant future.
However, food is a great equalizer, something all humans require to survive — farmers have long been ringing the alarm about the impacts of unpredictable weather and temperatures on crop yields.
Professor and food policy expert Tim Lang told CNN that adaptations to fortify the global food supply are halting and insufficient. "The data pile up. The politicians turn a blind eye … Land use is not altering fast or radically enough," he lamented, addressing the speed at which agriculture is adapting to changes in the climate.
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"This is a major problem. It's incredibly expensive. As a species, we have never confronted anything like this."
What's being done about declining crop yields?
Experts reiterated that "adaptation" and "mitigation" were critical steps to safeguard crops in an increasingly unpredictable climate, one in which the United States could lose half its crop yields.
Growing your own food is one approach to guard against food supply instability at a personal level, whereas donating to climate-related causes is a good way to make a broader impact.
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