Farmers sound the alarm as weather extremes slash key food crops: 'The threat comes from so many different places'

As the weather becomes more extreme and unpredictable, the seasonal patterns that agriculture relies upon are being thrown into chaos.

As SupplyChainBrain noted, the result is lower crop yields, higher food prices, and a global food supply chain in turmoil. That will likely mean a dramatic shift in the cost or even the availability of certain staple foods.

What's happening?

Rising temperatures supercharge weather events, causing droughts, floods, cold snaps, heat waves, storms, and cyclones, among other extreme conditions, to occur more frequently and with greater intensity. These events can have a detrimental effect on annual crop yields in various ways.

In 2024, U.S. farmers saw $11 billion in crop losses due to droughts, heat waves, and wildfires. While that clearly has a huge impact on the farmers themselves, it also extends far beyond that; the loss of all that food can be seen on store shelves and felt in our wallets.

Some notable food products that will likely be rarer and more costly this year are eggs, cocoa, and vanilla. Shifting weather patterns altered bird migration in the U.S., resulting in a devastating bird flu outbreak and subsequent egg shortage. Extremely dry weather has sent cocoa prices skyrocketing and made natural vanilla more scarce.

"The threat comes from so many different places," Amy Barnes, head of sustainability and climate change strategy for insurance broker and risk advisor Marsh, said, per SupplyChainBrain. "We need to look at the interconnectivity between climate systems and nature systems, and how that could have a negative spiral impact."

Why is understanding the impacts of extreme weather important?

While the prospect of stronger, more frequent natural disasters is sobering enough, shifting weather has the potential to be even more devastating than that. It can be detrimental to entire economies, and it poses a threat to the global food supply.

It's important to understand how extreme weather may impact us so that we can better adapt to it. That might mean opting for the resilience and dependability of solar power or growing your own food. 

What's being done about the threat to the global food supply?

Fortunately, there are some extremely smart, passionate, dedicated people seeking solutions to the growing agriculture crisis.

For example, a group of international researchers published a study that suggests tree crops are an overlooked answer to some of our impending food supply issues. They argue that tree crops not only provide food but also prevent soil erosion, improve soil fertility, absorb carbon, provide oxygen, and offer habitats to wildlife.

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Elsewhere, a group of scientists has had a breakthrough in the quest to create crops resistant to extreme weather. Utilizing genome editing tools to provide crops with traits that make them more resistant to heat has so far proved successful.

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