Introduction
We all know that climate change is an existential threat to humanity, and we should be doing more, such as cutting fossil fuel use, plastics, and other greenhouse gas emissions by using biodegradables and clean energy sources. Although we should be concerned about air quality, temperature, biodiversity, and the environment, we should be even more concerned about food. The purpose of my speech is to inform you about how climate change is affecting crop production. I will address the inefficiencies of water use in our food production systems, food waste, and the impact of temperature on crop yield. I remember a few years ago, we had bad weather in Texas, which led to serious food shortages. The intention is to help people know that hunger, thirst, and famine become more likely due to climate change. Thus, let us begin with water use in agriculture and food production.
Water and Agriculture
Firstly, crops are the basis of food because we ourselves or the meat we eat consume them, and growing plants require irrigation with water. A study, Frontiers in Plant Science titled ‘Water-Use Efficiency: Advances and Challenges in a Changing Climate’ found that “changes in climate will increase atmospheric water demand by crops and increase the potential for limitations” (Hatfield and Dold 2). In addition, shortages will be observed “in soil water availability because of the increased variation in precipitation during the growing season and even more so in soils with limited water holding capacity” (Hatfield and Dold 2). In other words, climate change increases temperature, which facilitates evaporation and reduces rainfalls making farmers more reliant on freshwater sources for irrigation.
Climate and Food Waste
Secondly, at the moment, humanity produces enough food to feed every person on the planet and even more. In the United States alone, around 40% of all food is wasted every year, which is equal to 125 to 160 billion pounds of food annually (Food Print par. 1). This is taking place at a time when there are 12% of US households suffering from food insecurity (Food Print par. 1). Please remember that I am giving stats for the United States only – a first world nation. We spend “15.7 percent of the total energy budget, 50 percent of all land and 80 percent of all freshwater consumed” on food production (Food Print par. 4).
We are overproducing food in a highly inefficient manner and still failing to feed every American let alone the world. Climate change will make energy expensive, water scarce, and crop yields small, which we will address next.
Temperature and Crop Yield
Thirdly, the previous points highlighted how climate change impacts crops and food production indirectly, but climate change will impact crop yields directly as well. A study by NASA predicts that corn “crop yields are projected to decline 24%, while wheat could potentially see the growth of about 17%” (Gray par. 1). These are the most important crop types for our food production, and the study was conducted before the War in Ukraine, which further contributes to crop yields due to farmers becoming soldiers. Therefore, the projection is likely to be even more problematic. The key reasons include drought, heat, wildfires, soil deprivation, and loss of nutritional value of the crops grown, which leads to our summary.
Conclusion
In conclusion, climate change will impact crops directly and indirectly through water shortage, inefficient food production, and lower yields. Climate change increases temperature, which facilitates evaporation and reduces rainfalls making farmers more reliant on freshwater sources for irrigation. Using river water or reservoirs excessively will dry them quicker. We are overproducing food in a highly inefficient manner and still failing to feed every American, let alone the world, and crop yields will drop significantly in the near future.
Works Cited
Food Print. “The Problem of Food Waste.” Food Print, 2022. Web.
Gray, Ellen. “Global Climate Change Impact on Crops Expected Within 10 Years, NASA Study Finds.” NASA, 2021. Web.
Hatfield, Jerry L., and Christian Dold. “Water-Use Efficiency: Advances and Challenges in a Changing Climate.” Frontiers in Plant Science, vol. 1, 2019, pp. 1-21. Web.