Shortage: 10 foods that could disappear due to drought

What if global warming and drought totally upset our diet? Faced with a scorching summer and drought in many departments, 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, to date, 93 departments are affected by a water restriction beyond vigilance, on at least part of the territory: 3 are on alert, 12 on heightened alert and 78 in crisis. Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Hauts-de-Seine are on alert according to the website of the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

Worse, the situation could even worsen this week, as we expect a new episode of strong heat on Wednesday with temperatures that will reach up to 36°C locally in Occitania according to La Chaîne Météo. “We cannot compare what will happen to what we experienced in June or even in July. There is no heat wave in sight by the end of the month, no alert is launched”, however, relativizes a forecaster from Météo France interviewed by france info.

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 food and our choices when we go shopping. Because plants, cereals, fruits and vegetables, need water, and generally tolerate high heat quite badly. Due to the drought and scorching temperatures, harvests will be greatly affected in France and this will also affect livestock, whose livestock will lack fodder. Professionals already fear shortages, or at least a significant drop in production. In our slideshow, discover the 10 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 at the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (Inrae), reports HuffPost. “After 2050, this will not be enough, according to INRAe researchers, as heat waves intensify and the demand for water from crops increases to compensate for evaporation from the leaves and the decrease in precipitation”, they warn.

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.