Yale Climate says 64 percent of adult Americans are worried about climate change. Seventy percent believe climate change will affect plants and animals, but only 46 percent think it will affect them personally.

According to GWU professor Dr. Uriyoán Colón-Ramos, raising concern about climate change requires that we talk more about food. Because everyone is affected immediately by the availability and the cost of food.

Dr. Colón-Ramo notes that extreme weather in 2023 was the main disrupter of food prices, She says important products are among those most susceptible to changes in weather patterns. Yields and nutritional quality are reduced. Crop failures lead to dwindling supplies, which means higher food prices.

Severe weather patterns also degrade the quality of our produce. Heat waves can scorch fruits and vegetables. A rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere also causes changes in the micronutrient content of popular produce like strawberries and tomatoes. To top it all off, severe weather events can also promote overgrowth of weeds and pests. 

Untimely frost, extreme heat, droughts, and floods cause a short supply of agricultural products. Supermarket prices rise and growers look to taxpayers for financial support.

In British Columbia, unusual weather patterns have devastated vineyards and severely affected fruit production, including blueberries and cherries, the province’s two most important fruit exports. According to Agriculture Canada, more than half of the province’s agricultural producers are experiencing exceptional drought, with moisture deficits accumulated from consecutive years of low water supplies.

World Economic Forum (WEF) says that soybeans, olive oil, rice, potatoes, and cocoa are just some of the crops that have been affected by climate change.

1. In February 2024, cocoa prices globally hit a record high and another year of low production caused by dry weather will lead to even higher prices.
2. A long, hot, dry summer in much of the Mediterranean damaged olive trees and caused a poor crop, stunting plants and crops during their crucial growing season. As a result, prices of olive oil soared to an all-time high and are likely to increase further.
3. Rice farmers have been feeling the effects of climate change on their crops for some years.
4. Drought affected soybean production in America’s Midwest. Soybean production is also significantly down in other places.
5. Wet weather in Europe has damaged potato production.

It will get worse. In 2023, surface temperatures in the North Atlantic were “off the charts” and have continue to rise in 2024.