Climate Action
4 Foods Climate Change May Wipe Out
September 30, 2025
There are on average over 30,000 different products you can buy your local supermarket and they have one thing in common: they all come from Earth. The plants, animals, fish, fruits, mushrooms and shellfish our planet provides give us great tastes and the nutrients we love. However, global warming threatens to harm the ways in which we produce these foods.
Food Waste Day is a great reminder that the flavors we enjoy on a day-to-day basis are not guaranteed to last forever. Climate change continues to affect the Earth’s air, soil, and temperature and now, its latest consequence promises to be your groceries. Whether you prefer earthly grains, exotic seafoods, or fresh produce, rising temperatures and extreme weather could spoil your favorite meals very soon.
Wheat
Grains are one of the most crucial sources of food globally. They provide essential carbohydrates and proteins, and offer a variety of vitamins too. Wheat itself is the daddy of the grain family and a staple of the human diet. 700-800 million metric tons of the crop have been produced each year in the past decade.
In order to produce high yields of wheat , a stable temperature between 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit (21-24 Celsius) is optimal. When global warming alters the ability for lands to meet this range, wheat yields suffer. As a result your favorite breads, pastas and pastries may be become more expensive — or even entirely unavailable — as rising temperatures bake the once-fertile soils meant for wheat cultivation.
The Great Plains of North America are a useful case in examining the direction of wheat production. They account for approximately 10% of global wheat production and 30% of high quality global wheat exports. Grain agriculture supports the rural communities and businesses that market the crop and have been a staple of the region.
Hardworking farmers built the Great Plains, but now climate change threatens to take away their means to an honest living. Research in Kansas from 2015 found that an increased temperature could result in exponential yield reduction, including a potential loss of up to 25% at 3.6 additional degrees Farenheit (2 degrees celsius). For reference, the Great Plains’ average temperature rose about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit (.83 celsius) from the 1960s to 2000.
Coffee
Whether you grab a cup on the way to work each morning at a local chain or grind the beans at home yourself, chances are you might be in the large group of daily coffee drinkers totalling over one billion members worldwide. The bean that powers over 2 billion cups per day is at risk of extinction, as climate change encroaches on ideal growing conditions.
Coffee requires a perfect combination of sunlight and low temperature to produce desired yields. Global warming causes beans to ripen prematurely, deteriorating flavor and creating potential health risk concerns for consumers. Seeking more favorable conditions, some growers have already left their existing growing areas and traveled to different locations to maintain production. For example, Australian farmers have been pushed further into the mountains where the climate is cooler and subtropical.
Given that coffee is already very selective in where it can grow this does not bode well for coffee lovers. Nearly all production comes from between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, known as the “Coffee Belt”. Hugging the equator, this region once featured stable weather for cultivating the plant but now faces risk like never before.
About half of coffee production comes from countries that are predicted to lose up to 60% of suitable ‘coffee growing lands’ by 2050. Reports indicate that global coffee production loss could be as high as 70%. Coffee is in serious danger. It might be time to choose a new morning drink; give that the effects of warming show no signs of stopping.
Peanuts
The tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Australia, Africa, and America are home to one of the most versatile products in the food industry: peanuts. Well-drained sandy soils and long warm seasons make these locations ideal to grow the popular oilseed. However once again, rising temperatures and erratic weather patterns are making growing peanuts harder than ever before.
A study by t the University of Florida determined that when peanuts are grown in climates hotter than 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36 celsius), seed yields drop off by about 6% per additional degree. At high temperatures, the plants can flourish and be large and healthy, but they are often absent of seeds, i.e. peanuts. Additionally, drought and intense rainfall are a major problem for peanut producers. Their adverse effects stunt plant growth and waterlog soil, which can prevent successful yields from fruition.
The peanut industry has a saving grace – science. Gene testing has already begun to solve these challenges – with the goal of engineering a superpowered peanut: one able to resist higher heats and endure exposure to erratic rainfall. While science’s ability to beat Mother Nature in this field remains to be determined, one thing is clear: the humble peanut remains in peril. There might be only jelly sandwiches in the future.
Grapes
Jelly is not exactly clear either, especially if your flavor of choice like many is grape. This much loved fruit is grown all over the world from India to Oregon, but is best grown in conditions ranging from 65-85 degrees Fahrenheit (18-29 celsius). But when exposed to heat stress, grapes prematurely begin the ripening process, causing the fruit to lose much of its alluring flavor and even damage the integrity of grape vines itself which reduces yields.
Wine is one of the biggest industries to profit off of the grape. Prematurely ripened grapes that have a high sugar content and weaker flavor post-fermentation lead to less attractive wines. These ‘bad grapes’ have a bad taste and shockingly high alcohol concentrations. The effects of climate change strip might wine of its nuance, prestige and throw many fancy labels into extinction. We need to address the growing concern of global warming if we have any hope of protecting our favorite vino.
Climate change is more than just hotter summers. It threatens how we live our lives daily, including the foods we love. From the grains that staple our breads to the grapes that make up the jam we put on them, our neglect of Mother Earth has real consequences on our diets. The choices we make moving forward could make or break our access to these foods in the present and for future generations.
Please consider signing the Renewable Energy Petition to hold our global leaders accountable for preventing climate change from stealing our favorite foods. Enjoy what fills up your fridges and pantries, because they might not be there the next time you take a trip to the grocery store.
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