Burning Fossil Fuels Reduces Our Bodies’ Fuel

This article is from my blog, planetnowcommunications.weebly.com, which is based on my book, Planet Now: Effective Strategies for Communicating about the Environment (published 2020). Subscribe to the blog to read more posts like this one!

In a 2021 poll, the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found that only 47% of Americans think climate change will harm them personally. A strategy for effective climate communication is showing people how climate change will likely affect them.

One impact of climate change that will probably affect most people is the reduced availability of some foods and drinks. What we eat and drink is a core part of our lifestyles. Showing people how climate change, mainly caused by burning fossil fuels, threatens this part of our lives can help them understand why it is important to slow the problem. Then they may take steps themselves to slow the problem.

Here are some foods and drinks that climate change could limit:

Chocolate

Drought is a growing problem in West Africa, where more than half of the world’s cocoa is grown. As climate change reduces humidity in this region, less land will be suitable for growing cocoa. Less cocoa means less chocolate. Health-conscious people may not be concerned about less chocolate, but communication with them could include health benefits of dark chocolate. For example, it has several vitamins and reduces people’s risk of heart disease and diabetes. ​

This GIF shows a child who has eaten a lot of chocolate.

​Potatoes

Do you like mashed potatoes or french fries? Hot temperatures and dry weather make potatoes more difficult to grow and can give them unattractive bumps and dark spots that consumers do not prefer to purchase. The good news is that scientists are creating new potato varieties that are more resilient to weather changes, showing the importance of research to help agriculture adapt to climate change! People should still be aware that climate change affects common foods like potatoes. Not all food has the option for resistant varieties.

Also, hurricanes can destroy sweet potato farms. North Carolina is the top producer of sweet potatoes in the United States. Hurricane Florence, which climate change likely worsened, washed away the majority of some farmers’ sweet potatoes in North Carolina in 2018. ​​

A 2018 Marketplace article includes this photo when it describes the impacts of Hurricane Florence on sweet potatoes in North Carolina.

Fish

Shockingly, climate change could cause 60% of fish species to go extinct by 2100. It is already harming fish like salmon by creating ocean acidification that kills their food. Lowered fish availability is a problem since about 3 billion people rely on seafood for protein.

A 2020 blog post from the National Wildlife Federation includes this photo of Pacific salmon swimming in Lake Tahoe on the border of California and Nevada; these salmon face climate threats.

Coffee

Coffee is a necessity in the diets of many college students and workers, but high temperatures and precipitation have caused spores to grow on coffee plants. The spores have prevented coffee berries from growing, especially in Central and South America. The spread of these spores could reduce land suitable for coffee production by 50% by 2050. ​

I hold a cup of coffee in my apartment in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in February 2022. Coffee gives me the energy I need to study and advocate for the environment.

​Wine

Climate change leads to wildfires that threaten vineyards in regions like California, Australia, and Spain, which are known for producing wine. Even distant wildfires can cause wine to have a smoky taste.

The LNU Lightning Complex wildfire threatens a vineyard in Healdsburg, California, on August 20, 2020. Climate change makes wildfires like this one spread rapidly.

These foods and drinks are just some popular sources of fuel for our bodies that climate change threatens. Other foods that climate change may make less available include rice, almonds, peaches, and cranberries. In North Carolina, climate impacts like heat, droughts, and floods have already destroyed crops like corn, soybean, and wheat, causing these industries to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.

The supply of food is not the only challenge. As the world population grows, demand for food will increase, which could also increase the costs of food.

Do you want to keep these foods and drinks readily available? Have conversations with family and friends about climate change and how it affects food. Vote for politicians who take climate change seriously. Support companies and brands that are sustainable. Join environmental organizations; they can connect you with resources to write letters to lawmakers. While climate change is already happening, the extent of the impacts depends on how much our society continues to contribute to the problem by burning fossil fuels. We can still fight to protect our environment — and our food.

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