Customers shocked by skyrocketing price of beloved comfort food: 'It's basically a delicacy'

Tokyo's Katsukichi restaurant traditionally serves free cabbage refills to go with Japan's cherished tonkatsu pork cutlets — or at least that was the case before climate change sent cabbage prices soaring, compelling the restaurant to rethink portions. And other vegetables are following suit, financial newspaper Barron's reported.

What's happening?

Chef Katsumi Shinagawa can no longer serve large plates of freshly shredded cabbage alongside tonkatsu, a famous Japanese dish consisting of breaded, deep-fried pork cutlets. Last year, record summer heat and heavy rainfall ruined crops. This led to skyrocketing prices for the vegetable in what the media qualified as "cabbage shock."

"It is the latest pain point for shoppers and eateries already squeezed by inflation," the report said, as Japanese residents have seen their energy bills climb alongside the cost of staples like rice, flour, and cooking oil.

"I never imagined cabbage would ever become so expensive that it's basically a delicacy," one user wrote on X, cited by Barron's.

According to the agriculture ministry, cabbage is now more than three times more expensive than usual.

"I was ready to cope when the price of flour started rising, but not cabbage," Shinagawa told Agence France Presse, per the report. In supermarkets, "half-sized ones used to be around 100 yen ($0.60) per head, but they are now like 400 yen," he explained.

Unfortunately, "tonkatsu and cabbage are like inseparable friends," the chef added.

Why is this concerning?

Cabbage is not the first food affected, and it will not be the last.

Agriculture is on the frontlines of climate change. As extreme weather events only become more frequent and intensify worldwide, crops — and biodiverse ecosystems overall — suffer, ultimately thinning out our food supply. In turn, prices skyrocket.

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In 2024, Japan recorded the hottest year in its history — for the second consecutive year. This, coupled with days of intense localized rain followed by a prolonged dry period, is far from a welcome sight for farmers.

"It was so hot that some cabbages were seared to death. The heat dehydrated them and made them wither," said Morihisa Suzuki from a federation of agricultural cooperatives in Aichi, one of Japan's major cabbage-producing hubs.

Lettuce, green onions, and daikon radishes have also become more expensive, Barron's pointed out.

What's being done about it?

In 2025, Japanese consumers are expected to see the price of some 6,000 food items increase, according to research firm Teikoku Databank, Barron's wrote. But between the lack of ambitious emission-reduction targets and the coal addiction it will not stop fueling, the country still has a long way to go to prevent such price hikes from happening.

In November, the Japan International Cooperation Agency announced a new strategy to address the impacts of climate change on agricultural and rural development cooperation. Measures include the development of assessment tools, the review of existing projects, and the promotion of adaptation and mitigation measures.

Meanwhile, citizens all over the world can try to reduce their carbon footprint, from purchasing secondhand items to switching to smarter homes to rewilding their yards. TCD can help you here.

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