7 favorites you won’t be able to eat in a few years
If we keep standing under the shower for that long and taking the car to work every time, we can forget about these favorite ingredients. Oh, hell.
Last October 24 was the warmest October 24 ever recorded; it was one of fourteen (!) temperature records this year. Yes, guys, the climate isn’t doing so well. That’s not only bad for the planet and our mood, but also for our food. On the Insider website, we came across a particularly alarming article. These products may soon no longer be edible:
1. Avocados
Avocados need an enormous amount of water to grow. Eighty percent of all American avocados are grown in California. If you’ve been following the news lately, you’ll know: that’s not good. It has never been this dry there.
2. Chickpeas
Worldwide chickpea production has already fallen by 40 to 50 percent. So say goodbye to your hummus, sob. Just when you think you’ve finally found the ultimate healthy dip, it goes extinct. Great. We really only have ourselves to blame.
3. Coffee
If we’re to believe CBC News, 70 percent of all coffee in the world will have disappeared by 2080. Yes, we know, this one hits particularly hard, because how are we (and our children) supposed to get out of bed later? As I write this, I’m immediately heading into the kitchen to make myself a coffee. Something about enjoying while it lasts?
4. Fish
This one probably isn’t very shocking. Fortunately, many measures are already being taken by banning fishing in certain areas. Whether fishermen actually follow these rules is the question; researchers say that by 2048 there will be no fish left if we continue like this.
5. Peanuts
Peanuts need five months of warm weather combined with 50 to 100 cm of water. With too little water, the plant won’t germinate, leaving us without peanuts. Peanuts are mainly grown in the southern United States, where they are currently suffering greatly from drought and heat waves. Even if they don’t disappear, they will become a luxury product. That. Is. Something. We. Do. Not. Want.
6. Maple syrup
A.k.a. maple syrup. Same story as the peanuts. The constantly changing climate can no longer give maple trees what they need: warm days in summer and freezing cold in winter. That is slowly disappearing, and so is the maple syrup.
7. Chocolate
The bottom line: we’re eating chocolate faster than it can be produced. Seventy percent of all the world’s cocoa is produced in West Africa. Temperatures are rising there too, while the water supply is decreasing. In addition, cocoa plants are suffering from a prevalent fungal disease. The disease eats away at the plants and destroys entire harvests.
We’ll all have to lend a hand to make progress. Everyone in their own way. You can protest in a public place with your banner, like the French, but you can also simply sort your waste properly, take one minute shorter showers, and cycle to work. Are you in?
