A kitchen table issue in Rome
At the upcoming United Nations food summit, delegates will tackle food scarcity in a warming world.
Politicians used to complain the public wouldn't care about global warming because it wasn’t a "kitchen table" issue.
If that were ever true, it’s certainly a thing of the past. Climate change is already affecting the price of food we put on the table, the livelihoods of farmers and fishers and our ability to nutritiously feed the world.
That's why, following the first ever United Nations Food Systems Summit in 2021, government leaders and experts from around the world will meet in the next few days to take stock of our growing, climate-driven food crisis.
When they meet in Rome, the delegates will face a daunting global landscape of drought, hotter oceans and heat-induced crop failure.
But they'll also have tools to cultivate a better future.
The UN Food Systems Summit may not get the social media buzz of celebrity feuds. But if you care about ensuring our lands and oceans can continue to feed a growing population, or if you are angry about rising food prices, you should be paying attention.
It also works the other way. The way we produce food causes 15% of current global warming so solving this challenge is key to ensuring a safer future.
So what do we need to stave off a hotter, hungrier, angrier future?
Or, for those like me who see the potential for a positive outcome, how can we steward a comfortable, calm and nourishing world for ourselves and our kids?
An opportunity to do it right
Almost nothing is more important to food production than water. Unfortunately, climate change is driving record heat and drought, disrupting farmers’ ability to produce crops.
For instance, in western Kansas — so famous for wheat that one of its college sports mascots is actually a bundle of wheat — analysis by Environmental Defense Fund shows that many counties will struggle to increase winter wheat yields as extreme springtime heat and droughts become the norm.
And more than 8,000 miles away in East Africa, five years of severe drought has caused repeated crop failures and starvation. We need to rethink and rebalance our use of water for the reality of a warming world and support farmers in planting more resilient crops that can thrive on a changed planet.
More fish in the sea
Just as critical as fresh water is protecting the world's oceans.
Recent reports indicate that they are heating up due to climate change much faster than scientists predicted, and this is shifting seafood production.
The profound impacts of declining fish supplies cannot be overstated. Over 3 billion people rely on food from lakes, rivers and oceans for protein. And millions of community-based fishers around the world depend on it for their livelihood, especially in the tropics that will be hardest hit by climate change.
Coastal villages like Lampung, Indonesia — where malnutrition has caused stunted growth in more than four in ten children — need the vitamin-packed seafood their local waters can provides.
But this does not need to become a downward spiral.
We have solutions that can feed people as waters warm and support a more livable world.
Communities with fishing rights can better conserve their resources. Countries like Chile, Peru and Ecuador are collaborating to build early warning systems about changing oceans that will enable smarter decision-making about catch levels.
Sustainable practices such as the cultivation of shellfish and seaweed, can both produce highly nutritious food, support local employment opportunities, reduce excess nitrogen from the water and pull carbon from the atmosphere.
These solutions are successfully being implemented all over the world.
The Aquatic Blue Food Coalition, led by EDF and partners, is co-hosting a special event at the upcoming UN stock take. During the event, titled Blue Transformation: Advancing aquatic food systems for people, planet and prosperity, global leaders will showcase how “blue food” solutions in their countries are benefiting people and the environment.
Drought and deluge
Back on land, farmers face both drought and floods, depending on geography.
Both mean massive disruptions, threats to farm income and potential mass migration in less developed economies. But, with an urgent focus on future proofing food production ,we can reduce the impact by rebalancing water use, investing in soil health and diversifying crops to be more resilient.
In the US, the upcoming consideration of the Farm bill will be key to progress. It is one of the few areas with genuine potential for bipartisan agreement in Congress. It's in everyone's interest to be pro-farmer, pro-consumer and pro-climate. Not only would a climate-smart farm bill mean more income for farmers and more stable prices for consumers, but it can reduce the emissions that come from agricultural production.
The delegates in Rome face a huge challenge. The urgency of the food and climate crisis requires concrete action.
Indeed, all our solutions, including those set to be discussed later this year at the international climate talks in Dubai, must address the multiple challenges we face.
So let's get to work sowing a safer climate, a plentiful and affordable food supply, and prosperity for those who produce it.