One of the world’s top vanilla producing countries has seen its output threatened by extreme heat.
What’s going on?
Vanilla plants often thrive under trees in the tropical regions of Mexico. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, this country is one of the top five producers of vanilla. But vanilla is sensitive to heat waves and drought, two types of weather that have been observed this year in Mexico.
“Vanilla production is at great risk due to the effects of climate change,” said University of Veracruz professor Alejandro Quirino Villarreal, at Modern Farmer.
“All our producers estimate that we have lost 80 percent of this year’s harvest,” agricultural worker Arturo Elias Garcia Gonzales said.
Supporting the production of vanilla is also an important tradition for members of the Chinantec community. Seven types of spices can be found in the Chinantla region, but production problems threaten their long-term value.
“If we stop naming some animals in the Chinantec language because they don’t exist, we start to lose the language,” explained Elias Garcia Martinez.
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Why are plants threatened by global warming?
Mexico made headlines this year, enduring a devastating drought amid extreme heat. Extreme weather conditions and a warming country have affected some planting areas this year. Olive oil prices rose as production slowed in the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe.
A study published this spring explained how global warming is driving up the cost of essential foods and making people less likely to eat healthily. Africa is another part of the world that is expected to be hit hard. The World Food Program USA ranks Madagascar in second place on its list of countries most affected by the climate crisis.
“Climate change can affect the availability of food, reduce the availability of food, and affect the quality of food. For example, it is estimated that the increase in temperature, changes in rainfall patterns, changes in weather patterns, and the reduction of water availability can cause a decrease in agricultural production; “According to the Environmental Protection Agency. “The increase in frequency and severity of extreme weather events can also affect the delivery of food, and cause spikes in food prices after extreme events are expected to occur more often in the future. The increase in temperature can cause damage and pollution.”
The National Park Service says that climate change will increase the number of stressors that affect the health of plants, disrupting the structure of forests and the climate they support. The negative effects of this include reduced productivity, changes in ecosystem processes, vulnerability to insects, and the spread of invasive plants.
What is being done about reducing the impact of global warming on food production?
Advances in technology can help the country face some of its food production challenges. German researchers have developed a technology that uses bacteria and carbon dioxide to produce substances that will help stabilize food around the world.
An international team’s research on chickpea genotypes has found encouraging results. They grew the high-protein crop amid a drought in the inner city of Vienna, giving hope that even urban areas can support chickens and provide some food security.
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