Climate Crisis Could Affect What’s on Your Holiday Table
Written by - Erin Belknap
Delicious food is one of the highlights of the holiday season. It’s what brings people together. The kitchen becomes the hub of the house as tables across the country are loaded with holiday favorites like turkey, roast, all sorts of veggies, endless casseroles, potatoes, latkes, breads, cookies, pies and a smorgasbord of sweets and desserts. The list goes on. It’s difficult to even imagine a holiday spread without many of these staples... but that’s a reality that we’re grappling with as the climate crisis increasingly impacts farming and agriculture.
Temperature extremes, insect plagues, and extreme weather patterns such as drought and flood are just a few of the climate change impacts we’ve begun to witness-- all of which have consequences when it comes to food production. Scientists project that rising temperatures will have a negative effect on crops such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberries, corn and wheat, making these foods more difficult to grow and thus more scarce. Studies published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences estimate that US corn production could be cut in half by the end of the century if warming continues at its current pace. If global warming is instead held to the Paris Agreement goal of 2 degrees, corn crop yields will fall less dramatically, by about 18%. Wheat production is under similar threat. A 2015 Stanford University study found that wheat production across Europe could drop by more than 20% by 2040. Considering corn and wheat are hugely critical crops in feeding our planet, shortages could have ramifications that reach far, far beyond the holiday table.
Pumpkin harvests, too, are at risk due to the increasing prevalence of droughts and floods. In recent years, excessively dry conditions have led to pumpkin shortages in California, one of our nation’s top pumpkin suppliers. Two thousand miles away in Morton, Illinois, which happens to be another one of our country’s top pumpkin producers, excessive rainfall is causing the same problem. In 2009 and 2015, our nation’s supply of canned pumpkin fell so drastically that cans were selling on Ebay for close to $30.
Animal agriculture will be affected, as well. Big impressive turkeys to feed the family might be harder to come by on Turkey Day, as warmer temperatures will result in smaller birds and even increased death from heat exhaustion or stroke. (It’s important to note, though, that animal agriculture is a huge offender when it comes to human-caused greenhouse-gas emissions as well as deforestation, both of which contribute significantly to climate crisis. So a Thanksgiving table sans turkey or ham might not be the worst thing from an environmental standpoint.)
Many other foods and resources are in similar jeopardy, including chocolate, coffee, seafood, maple syrup, beans, peanuts, rice and various fruits and vegetables. Farmers and growers for many of these crops are already looking for ways to adapt their practices in the face of climate change.
When we think about these foods in the context of our holiday table, it’s a sobering reminder that our food landscape is changing. As the Earth warms, food scarcity and food access will become increasingly critical issues that we as a society must address and prevent.
So this holiday season, along with practicing gratitude, let’s also practice mindfulness. It is oftentimes too easy to disconnect ourselves from the impacts of climate change, like melting ice caps and rising sea levels. We’re able to distance our thoughts from such things in part because they can seem far removed from our daily realities. But the truth is---we don’t have to look any further than our holiday table to see the impacts of our changing climate. By spreading awareness and being environmentally conscious this holiday season, we can all do our part in ensuring that we’ll be sitting at a bountiful holiday table for years to come.
Read on below for our two biggest tips on a climate-friendly holiday meal.
Avoid food waste. For many families, Thanksgiving dinner is characterized by abundance and excess. Lots of food, lots of people (in non-pandemic years, at least), lots of chaos. This also means lots of waste, unfortunately. According to Yale Climate Connections, the US wastes nearly 40% of food produced every year. Once thrown out, food rots in landfills and produces methane, a greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. Some food waste is inevitable (carrot peels, apple cores, egg shells…). A great way to process this organic waste is through composting. Check out Grow Pittsburgh’s Composting Workshops to get a food waste system set up in your own backyard!
Consider plant and veggie based dishes. Meat products have a significantly higher carbon footprint than other foods such as fruits, vegetables and grains, so be sure to be mindful of the carbon footprint of your food as you’re planning your holiday menu. Plant-based dishes have a lesser environmental impact than turkey does, and turkey has a lesser impact than roast beef. Increasing your plant-based food intake and reducing your meat intake is one of the biggest individual actions you can take to reduce your climate impact. A great way to purchase local, veggie-based goodness is through subscribing to Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). There are dozens of farms around Pittsburgh that deliver boxes of fresh vegetables to residents year-round. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!
