Coffee, beer, chocolate: which products will disappear with global warming
Global warming poses a threat to the entire planet. And this is due not only to unpredictable weather, melting glaciers and the disappearance of many biological species, but also to changes in the diet of its entire population. And all because a dry and long summer has a negative impact on agriculture and the production of some products.
By the end of the century, people's diets will lack such goodies as coffee or chocolate. What other products are threatened with "extinction", read in our material.
Potato
By 2050, you can forget about crispy, toasted French fries ,because by this period potatoes will be in great shortage and it is unlikely that they will continue to be used for such purposes.
Last year, due to a severe drought, the potato yield decreased by 25%. These are the lowest figures for the last 60 years, but scientists say that it will only get worse.
According to experts According to the UK Climate Coalition, three-quarters of local land will be unsuitable for growing potatoes in 30 years. Thus, the yield will fall by about 80%. There will also be a negative trend in the rest of the world.
Chocolate
In addition, by 2050, cocoa trees that produce beans for the production of chocolate are likely to disappear. And this is even taking into account the fact that they already grow in the hottest places on the planet.
Cocoa trees are very "demanding". For their growth, they need regular precipitation, high humidity, wind protection, stable illumination. So far, all these conditions are met by farmers of the two main countries engaged in the production of cocoa beans-Ivory Coast and Ghana.
But due to the warming, the temperature in these already hot places will rise by almost 4 degrees, which means that farmers will have to move all their production to the mountains, the territory of which is not suitable for growing cocoa trees. The shortage of chocolate was predicted back in 2014. And the situation is getting worse every year. According to scientists, in 2020 the deficit will be up to 1 million tons, in 2030-2 million tons.
To make you understand how important this loss is, we recommend reading an article about the useful properties of chocolate. The complete disappearance of this product can really negatively affect people's health.
Coffee
Global warming will also have a negative impact on coffee plantations. Employees of the Climate Institute of Australia are confident that if the situation does not change, by the end of the XXI century there will not be a single coffee bush on earth.
The reason is that an increase in temperature leads to the development of fungal diseases affecting the plantations. At the same time, pests attacking coffee trees feel very comfortable in such an environment, so the harvest of coffee beans will have a "double blow".
Back in 2012, a significant part of the agricultural plots on which trees are grown died in Central America due to a sharp warming. In Guatemala alone, producers lost 85% of the crop.
Alcohol
Specialists from the University of East Anglia conducted a study together with scientists from China, Mexico and the United States and found out that global warming can lead to a reduction in the barley harvest. As you know, most types of beer are prepared from it. Therefore, given the impending crisis, in the coming months, the production of this intoxicating drink will be reduced by 16%, which is almost 30 billion liters! Naturally, it will not be possible to avoid an increase in the cost of beer.
Also, according to experts, extreme weather conditions will negatively affect cognac products. Even now, cognac producers complain that the hot summer leads to a change in the taste of the famous drink, since the grapes from which it is made ripen with too low acidity.
Given the rate of warming, cognac may cease to exist in 30 years. Or consumers themselves will refuse it even earlier, since the taste of the drink will become completely different for this.
Fish
Due to the warming of the world Ocean, the content of oxygen dissolved in water is greatly reduced, which in turn leads to a decrease in the size of fish. Over the next few decades, the inhabitants of the seas and oceans will become shorter by about a quarter.
It is also worth mentioning the negative impact of waste on the vital activity of these creatures. More recently, we told you how dangerous small plastic is for fish, which, by the way, is found in some food products, cosmetics, household chemicals and even in drinking water!
Keywords: Nature | Science | Climate | World | Temperature | Society | Global warming | Food and drinks