Farmers warn of devastating price hikes as disruptions wreak havoc on food supply: 'We can expect … ongoing shocks'

The changing climate will continue to impact food supplies and prices this year, a new report revealed.

What's happening?

Extreme weather will cause volatile prices as crop yields are affected, The Guardian reported. Rising global temperatures make weather extremes, or weather whiplash, more common and severe.

"In an apparent confirmation of warnings that climate breakdown could lead to food shortages, research by the consultancy Inverto found steep rises in the prices of a number of food commodities in the year to January that correlated with unexpected weather," the newspaper stated.

High temperatures and excess rainfall, for example, pushed the cost of cocoa and coffee up 163% and 103%, respectively, year over year. Sunflower oil, orange juice, butter, and beef were also significantly pricier.

"Crops are often vulnerable to extreme weather, and we can expect to witness ongoing shocks to global agricultural production and supply chains, which ultimately feed into food security concerns," Pete Falloon, a food security expert at the Met Office and University of Bristol, told The Guardian.

Why is this important?

Extreme heat is just one example of increasingly frequent and severe weather events that are threatening human life. Not only do these heat waves, floods, wildfires, and more kill crops, but they also contribute to 250,000 deaths per year via undernutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress, according to the World Health Organization.

"In December, the UK government said climate breakdown and related food price inflation was leading to a rise in the number of hungry and malnourished households," The Guardian reported.

Another expert, Max Kotz of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told the outlet that these issues will continue to get worse until the production of heat-trapping gases reaches net zero. The burning of dirty fuels for energy is to blame, as it releases toxic pollution that envelops Earth like a blanket and drives rising global temperatures and everything that follows.

What's being done about the changing climate's effect on crops?

"Food manufacturers and retailers should diversify their supply chains and sourcing strategies to reduce over-reliance on any one region affected by crop failures," Katharina Erfort of Inverto told The Guardian.

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Scientists and food producers, meanwhile, are working to make crops more resilient to extreme weather, developing companion planting techniques that can help boost cocoa production and genetically modified corn that can withstand high winds, for instance.

Individuals can take steps big and small to join the movement toward a cleaner, safer future. Installing solar panels or a heat pump can be extremely impactful, cutting your reliance on dirty energy and lowering your utility bills. Simple changes such as upgrading to a natural lawn, using less plastic, and shopping at thrift stores require little or no upfront cost and add up quickly.

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