In August, the United Nations released a new scientific report that human-caused climate change is dramatically degrading the Earth’s land and the way people use the land is making global warming worse. This was published before news of the Amazonian fires broke, making headlines around the world.
To give a brief overview of what’s going on – humans have created a vicious cycle of contributing to climate change that is accelerating at an alarming rate. Essentially, when land is degraded (like the deforestation that’s currently happening in the Amazon), it becomes less productive, restricting what can be grown and reducing the soil’s ability to absorb carbon – this exacerbates climate change, while climate change in turn exacerbates land degradation.
Now we’ve known for a while that climate change is bad, but what exactly does this all mean?
Well, climate change and land mismanagement are resulting in a serious threat to our food supply, making it more expensive, scarcer and less nutritious. According to the UN’s report, roughly 500 million people live in areas that experience desertification (the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture). Climate change is affecting all four pillars of food security on Earth, including availability (yield and production), access (prices and ability to obtain food), utilization (nutrition and cooking) and stability (disruptions to availability).
Priyadarshi Shukla, co-chair of IPCC Working Group III, says, “Food security will be increasingly affected by future climate change through yield declines – especially in the tropics – increased prices, reduced nutrient quality, and supply chain disruptions.”
There have been numerous studies that show that high levels of carbon dioxide reduce protein and nutrients in many crops, including staples like wheat, which has shown that is can have 6-13% less protein, 4-7% less zinc and 5-8% less iron when exposed.*
So, what can we do?
The U.S. was on the right track when it pledged with almost every country in the world to lower emissions as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement, but then Trump expressed his intent to withdraw, although he can’t formally do so until next year. However, the UN is still pushing for more sustainable land management practices and a reformed diet that includes more plant-based foods and less meat, which I get into more here. In the meantime, educating yourself on climate change and how to lead a more sustainable life, as well as finding small ways to get involved is something you can do right now. Here are a few of my favorite organizations and places where you can donate to protect the Amazon:
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): https://www.ipcc.ch/
Global Green: https://www.globalgreen.org/
Earth Alliance: https://ealliance.org/amazonfund/
Amazon Watch: https://amazonwatch.org/donate
Instituto Socioambiental: https://filiacao.socioambiental.org/donate/
*According to NASA’s senior research scientist, Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig
