What if global warming and drought totally upset our diet? The question arises more than ever in this summer of 2022. The drought we are going through would indeed be “the most serious ever recorded” in France, according to a recent communication from Matignon.
In mainland France, 93 out of 96 departments are subject to water restrictions to varying degrees as of August 8 and 66 are “in crisis”, the highest level of alert.
Worse: the situation could even get worse this week, as we expect a new wave of heat waves.
“As of August 5, the soil drought situation is generalized throughout the metropolitan territory. In addition, many regions are at the level of historical dry records: PACA, Corsica, Occitanie, Grand Est, specifies Météo France. By the middle of August, it is very likely that this dry soil situation will worsen further in a large number of regions”.
And if the situation raises fears of a lack of water, and more and more devastating fires, it could also change, in the long term, our diet.
Because plants, cereals, fruits and vegetables, need water, and generally tolerate high heat quite badly. Professionals already fear shortages, or at least a significant drop in production. In our slideshow, discover the 8 foods that could well become increasingly rare on your plate, because of the unprecedented drought.
If certain foods risk disappearing from our fridges, we will have to adapt. Replace some starchy foods with legumes, reduce dairy products… And accept that our fruits and vegetables can change flavor.
On the agricultural side, some are already thinking about sowing earlier. A temporary solution, according to researchers from the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (Inrae), reports the HuffPost: “after 2050, this will not be enough according to Inrae researchers, so heat waves intensify and crop water demand increases to compensate for leaf evaporation and reduced rainfall”.
For some scientists, a solution could be to review the agricultural planning of the globe, in order to plant crops further north… The site is daunting, but could become urgent, because vital to continue feeding the planet.
