Chili peppers, coffee, wine: how the climate crisis is causing food shortages (The Guardian) 

The Guardian published an article on how climate change-related events such as heat, storms, droughts, floods and fires are putting food production at risk. Many foods like chili peppers, wheat, and fruits are affected by these weather conditions. For example, apples are another food already at risk. Last year’s apple harvest in Michigan and Wisconsin was compromised because of heavy frost in the spring. According to the USDA, changes in climate, such as warming, can lead to smaller yields, lower growth, and changes in the fruit’s quality. Senior research fellow Ricky Robertson says, “Humans are scrappy little creatures so we’re still growing food, and yields are going up by and large, but as the temperature goes up, the challenge becomes greater.” Robertson likens agriculture’s climate-related challenges to a game of musical chairs, with growers having to move their production in order to adapt to warmer temperatures and extreme weather. “You’re going to have to work harder and find more land to grow,” he said. “The places that become less good for growing stuff are greater than the new places they can go. The small producers especially are going to face difficulty in trying to figure out where they are in the musical chairs.” Republished in Teen Vogue, Circle of Blue.