A Vicious Cycle
Have you ever thought about the journey that a single carrot in your hand has taken, from the farm all the way to your plate? How was it grown? What processes did it go through? How was it transported? And how did it end up on the shelves of your local market?
The story of the carrot doesn’t end when it’s pulled from the soil. It passes through a complex food system before reaching your plate. This system (from production to consumption, packaging to shipping) is responsible for over a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it a major driver of climate change.
Meat and dairy, two of the most consumed foods in the world, generate more than half of these emissions. Modern industrial agriculture, which is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, plays a significant role. Also converting natural ecosystems into agricultural land and conventional farming practices have made food production one of the leading causes of biodiversity loss.
Our food systems contribute massively to climate change, which in turn makes it harder to grow food and lowers the quality of what we eat. Climate change doesn’t just reduce the yield but it reduces the nutritional value of food crops. The higher the level of CO2 in the atmosphere, the more glucose and other carbohydrates plants will synthesise instead of nutrients essential to human health, such as proteins, iron, and zinc. (yes, your veggies might be bigger, but that doesn’t mean they’re more nutritious.)
It’s a vicious cycle. Our way of producing food harms the planet, and in return, a changing climate makes food production even more challenging.
How Does Climate Change Make It Hard to Grow Food?
The short answer is this: Greenhouse gases affect plant and animal growth, leading to rising sea levels, warmer oceans, and extreme weather and climate events. Droughts, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and unpredictable rainfall all harm livestock and crops.
Let’s investigate more:
On the bright side (I can’t believe I just wrote this), warmer weather might actually benefit certain crops, like potatoes in Northern Europe or rice in West Africa. Some farmers could even try growing crops that typically need a warmer climate. But in many places, climate change makes it nearly impossible to grow the usual crops.
How much heat a plant can handle is crucial. If it gets too hot, crops won’t grow as well because the heat interferes with things like pollination and root growth. Research suggests that for every degree the temperature rises, we could see a 5 to 15 percent drop in food production. (that’s a big deal!)
And it’s not just plants feeling the heat, animals are struggling too. Heatwaves, which are becoming more common, make livestock less fertile and more likely to get sick. Dairy cows, in particular, don’t handle heat well, so we may see less milk on our tables (which we should, anyway). Plus, warmer and wetter weather is like a holiday for pests, weeds, and fungi. This forces farmers to use more chemicals and medicines, which eventually find their way into our food. Honestly, this is the moment (if you haven’t already) to remind ourselves that cutting back on meat and shifting to a more plant-based diet will really help ease some of these issues.
Heatwaves also bring drought and water scarcity. As temperatures rise, rivers, lakes, and groundwater sources dry up faster, leaving farmers with less water to irrigate their crops. This forces them to make tough choices, like which crops to grow or how much land to farm, because there simply isn’t enough water to go around. Without enough water, crops can’t grow well, and animals struggle to stay hydrated, making farming a real challenge in many parts of the world.
What Can You Do?
There are things you can do to reduce these effects. Start by eating more plant-based foods and buying more locally-produced items. Avoid products that travel all the way from the other side of the world. Educate yourself on sustainable agricultural systems. But most importantly, vote for governments that prioritise protecting and restoring ecosystems, and transitioning to renewable energy.
It’s easy to blame food for things like deforestation, methane emissions, or soil degradation. But the truth is, it’s not the food itself that’s the problem. It’s people. And not just any people, but a small group of powerful individuals running big agribusinesses. These are the ones making decisions that shape our food systems, often pushing things in a direction that benefits their profits rather than what’s best for the planet or for us. They decide which technologies to use, which markets to tap into, and how much land to exploit, all while keeping us, the consumers, in the dark.
Many of us are led to believe that our food systems are the way they are because it’s the only way to feed billions of people. But that’s a lie, plain and simple. The truth is, our food systems are rigged, built to serve the interests of a wealthy few at the expense of everyone else. From the technologies they push to the government subsidies and trade deals they lobby for, it’s all designed to extract as much wealth as possible, consolidate power, and control our food supply. This isn’t about feeding people. It’s about feeding their profits, and they’re doing it by exploiting land, resources, and animals without a second thought. Our food system isn’t broken. It’s been deliberately engineered to keep the rich richer and the rest of us in the dark.