Much of the talk around climate change focuses on the problems of rising sea levels, affected wildlife and carbon dioxide emissions. While these are fundamental issues which require solutions, there is another effect which will have a more direct impact on everyone’s lives — the loss of food security. We can move away from the coasts, we can live with less diverse ecosystems but we cannot survive without food. The effects of climate change on food security must become part of our national conversation now, before it is too late to prevent widespread hunger.
It is not hard to conclude that a rapidly changing climate will jeopardize our ability to consistently grow crops. Climate change is expected to universally stunt plant growth due to fewer suitable days each year for growth. Extreme weather events, which have the ability to destroy crops and vital food production infrastructure, are predicted to rise in frequency and intensity. With the climate rapidly changing, people will have to deal with disasters such as droughts and floods in an unprecedented number of regions.
Rising sea levels will also have a profound effect on food production. A great deal of farming is done near the coasts, and rising salt water will make much of that land unusable. Even more concerning than simple flooding is the effect of salt water on the whole ecosystem of many regions. As sea water moves up the coast, it will touch streams and lakes, filling them with salt. Ignoring for a moment the wider environmental impact, this would take much of the water used for agriculture out of commission, save for a massive, expensive desalinization effort. Even more concerning, this would also threaten many people’s access to clean drinking water.
Developed countries are predicted to have a greater ability to adapt to the new climate realities, but that still leaves billions of people who have a seriously threatened food supply. Despite having more food security, the United States has a strong interest in not letting climate change compromise the food supplies of developing countries. America benefits from the international order, and when that order is disrupted, problems are created for the United States. Just look at the situation in Syria right now for an example of why international chaos creates problems for the United States. There are already hundreds of millions of people starving in the developing world and climate change will only exacerbate the issue. If we do nothing to protect ourselves against the effect of climate change on the developing world’s food supply, there will be chaos which makes the Syrian civil war look tame.
Some people have recognized these problems and started to offer a few solutions. With the aid of GMOs, certain countries now have drought resistant crops. Many of the least developed countries are recognizing the threat to themselves and are working towards a variety of solutions. The Paris Climate Accords directly address the issue of food security and tries to lay out an international approach to the problem. Addressing climate change on a larger scale with changes like cutting back on carbon emissions is also an essential part of the solution.
The problem is that large, developed countries like the United States have yet to throw their weight behind any of these solutions. The United States is not likely to address this issue anytime soon. President Donald Trump is suggesting cuts to every agency that could possibly held address this problem — the EPA, USAID and the State Department. On top of this is the fact that many U.S. politicians do not believe in climate change. There needs to be a fundamental shift on how our country views and handles climate change. Hopefully the effects on food security can push U.S. policy makers to a more practical and sensible view on this existential threat to our planet.
Bobby Doyle is an Opinion columnist at The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.
Read More
UPADHYAYA: The new University policies will hurt, not help, students
By Apal Upadhyaya | 3 days agoStudents should be able to safely and peacefully demonstrate for causes they believe in without being driven away by the threat of violence and intimidation.
LETTER: October 7 — one year on, we must look beyond the facade of conciliation
By Vaidehi Bhardwaj | 3 days agoDialogue too often reframes conflict, normalizing rather than rectifying conditions of injustice.
EDITORIAL: Affirm the actions of U.Va.’s admissions programs
By Editorial Board | October 10, 2024The University succeeded where many other institutions fell short.
