A changing climate could limit food choices, warns environmental journalist

July 2, 2019

Amanda Little, an environmental journalist and professor at Vanderbilt University, warns in her book “The Fate of Food” that the human dietary landscape is changing rapidly, which could limit food diversity.

Increased global temperatures, crowding, drier conditions and extreme weather events are among the main threats to current food supply. This means less arable land for planting crops, but more mouths to feed.

Indiana has experienced the pressures of abnormal weather so far this year. Climate scientists say climate change plays an important role in the increased rain and tornadoes seen in the Midwest in 2019. This weather has kept many farmers from planting their normal crops, and if this pattern continues, they will need to innovate to supply enough food for the world’s growing population.

In an interview with Vox, Little explained that there have been concerns for thousands of years about people running out of food. She says, “the stakes are higher now than ever, but the potential solutions are also greater.”

Little said technology like Blue River Technology’s weeding robot, which can distinguish between a baby weed and a baby crop, provide new opportunities to increase crop yield.

She hopes human diets can remain as diverse as they are today, but to maintain a wide array of dinner choices, she says innovations and adaptations will be necessary.

A changing climate could limit food choices, warns environmental journalist

TL;DR
/