One of the world's top vanilla-producing countries has seen its output threatened by extreme heat.
What's happening?
Vanilla plants normally flourish under the canopy of trees in regions where crops are grown in Mexico. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the country is one of the top five producers of vanilla. But vanilla is sensitive to heat waves and drought, two extreme types of weather seen this year in Mexico.
"Vanilla production is at serious risk as a result of the effects caused by climate change," said University of Veracruz professor Alejandro Quirino Villarreal, per Modern Farmer.
"All of our producers estimate that we lost about 80 percent of this year's produce," plantation worker Arturo Elias Garcia Gonzales said.
Sustaining vanilla production is also of cultural significance to members of the Chinantec community. Seven varieties of the spice can be found in the Chinantla region, but the production challenges threaten that long-term significance.
"If we stop naming certain species in Chinantec language because they are not present anymore, we start losing the language," explained Elias Garcia Martinez.
Why are crops threatened by an overheating planet important?
Mexico has made headlines this year, enduring devastating droughts amid record-breaking heat. Extreme weather exacerbated by a warming world has impacted another pantry staple this year. Olive oil prices have surged as production dropped in the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe.
A study released this spring detailed how global heating raises the price of essential food and keeps people from eating healthily. Africa is one part of the world that is expected to be hit the hardest. The World Food Program USA ranks Madagascar second on its list of countries most affected by climate change.
"Climate change can disrupt food availability, reduce access to food, and affect food quality. For example, projected increases in temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, changes in extreme weather events, and reductions in water availability may all result in reduced agricultural productivity," according to the Environmental Protection Agency. "Increases in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events can also interrupt food delivery, and resulting spikes in food prices after extreme events are expected to be more frequent in the future. Increasing temperatures can contribute to spoilage and contamination."
The National Park Service says the changing climate exacerbates stressors that compromise plant resilience, disrupting forest structure and the ecosystems they support. The adverse effects of this include lowered productivity, altered ecosystem structure, vulnerability to pests, and the spread of invasive plants.
What's being done about mitigating the impacts of an overheating planet on food production?
Advances in technology can help the world face some of its food production challenges. German researchers developed a technology that uses microbes and carbon dioxide to yield materials that ultimately will help stabilize food supplies worldwide.
An international research team's study on chickpea genotypes found encouraging results. They grew the high-protein plant amid drought conditions in Vienna's city center, giving hope that even urban areas can support chickpeas and provide additional food security.
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