In My Kitchen and in the World

Global food insecurity from "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World"
Published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 2022.

In all the kitchens of the world, cooks are worried about food scarcity, higher prices, and short supplies of favorites, and even of necessities. Food insecurity is increasing, on a global scale. One reason is deteriorating conditions for growing crops in many places. Climate change is accelerating food supply problems and cooperation  among nations to take effective measures against the warming planet are not going well. Here’s the unfortunate and inconvenient fact:

"With each fraction of a degree of warming, tens of millions more people worldwide would be exposed to life-threatening heat waves, food and water scarcity, and coastal flooding while millions more mammals, insects, birds and plants would disappear." (New York Times, October 26,2022)

Declining food production is already occurring in some places, and hunger — even starvation — is already widespread in some parts of the world. Besides climate change, the war in Ukraine has caused higher prices of grains and cooking oil. Though not as disastrous as was first expected, the situation is volatile. The impact of the war on global food supplies and prices is very important and also complicated. I have not addressed it in this post: the issue needs much more space and attention than what I have written here.

Thinking about people around the world and their problems obtaining healthy food, or in fact any food, is often on my mind. I’m also thinking about how current issues are directly affecting my kitchen and kitchens like mine. For this blog post, admittedly centered on the American kitchen of the moment, I’ve chosen just a few examples of foods in my kitchen that almost everyone in the US depends on, but that are affected by the variables of a warming planet. I definitely know that I’m privileged, but these details are part of a big picture of the state of the whole world’s kitchens. 

Processed Tomato Products

From my pantry: this can of tomato sauce says “Organic California Roma Tomatoes.” Ninety- five percent of processed tomatoes for US consumption are grown in California. Pizza sauce, tomato sauce, tomato paste, catsup…we Americans depend on these products for many of our favorite dishes.

In 2022 the tomato harvest is coming in much smaller than usual, as “rising interest rates, inflation, and the crushing drought squeezed farmers who saw their margins sliced and diced. While the cost of growing tomatoes continues to rise, it’s ultimately hitting consumers in the wallet as well.”

The drought has vastly decreased the farmers’ access to irrigation water, and many farmers had to leave their fields standing fallow. Some farmers weren’t even able to plant any crops at all, and others have switched from tomatoes to less water-intensive produce.  (CNN, October 17, 2022)

Prices will go up, even if imported produce can replace some of the US farm products. Unfortunately, this is not solely due to inflation, but to actual reduction in supplies of food.

Fresh Vegetables

While California produces most tomatoes for canning, Florida is a major producer of fresh tomatoes and also other vegetables such as the green onions in my photo. Green onions, which normally come from Florida, were hard to find here for a while, and the ones in the photo are from California. However, there are problems with harvests, planting, rain (too little or too much), and many other aspects of the farms where many such vegetables grow. 

The tomatoes in the photo were grown in Ontario, Canada, which is a local supplier in our area (it’s only around 70 miles from here to the tomato-growing farms and greenhouses along Lake Erie). Florida is also a major fresh tomato growing area: from October to June, Florida supplies over half the fresh tomatoes for the US. At other times, we rely on the declining capabilities of California agriculture. Again, a climate issue is disrupting supplies:

“Because Hurricane Ian made landfall three weeks later than Irma, almost all of southwest Florida’s tomato seedlings were planted when the storm arrived, meaning that many acres will need to be replanted after basic services are restored in Lee and Charlotte Counties, counties hit hard by Ian.” (source)

Far more food supplies than tomatoes and green onions have been disrupted by the hurricane. Farms in Florida produce citrus fruit, field crops, and  also raise cattle and produce honey. “Across Florida, Hurricane Ian trampled through about 4 million acres of farmland, according to the latest figures from the Agriculture Department for the affected counties.” (source)

More from my refrigerator: cucumbers from Canada; lettuce, celery, and carrots from California, 
and fresh ginger from an unnamed source.

California has a different set of problems with the many vegetables it supplies to American consumers, including lettuce, broccoli, and more. In fact, California provides Americans with  the majority of their almonds, artichokes, celery, figs, garlic, grapes, raisins and quite.a few other fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Most of these have also become more expensive recently, for a variety of reasons. For example, the California lettuce crop is in trouble, as heat waves intensify problems from plant diseases. As of earlier in October the situation was this:

“For three years, Central Valley lettuce and leafy greens growers have battled Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV), which is a plant pathogenic virus. Hot weather three weeks ago really activated INSV damage. But the influence of the disease begins with the outset of summer. In mid-October, yields were down as much as 50% below full production … ‘the industry is reaching some peak pricing.’” (source)

Many other countries and other parts of the US beyond California and Florida are growers of agricultural products, and their supplies are not necessarily as troubled as these major producers. But even if alternate agricultural areas can offer more produce to be imported to the US and supplied to other countries, many issues of international supply, demand, and rising price are looming ahead of the planet. 

I’ve only discussed the issues for well-off consumers in the US, but for poor people and for countries that don’t have the resources of the US and Europe the increase in prices and the decline in supplies have even worse consequences. Don’t misunderstand: I know that people in my situation have more choices and are more fortunate. 

Sriracha Hot Sauces

Last summer, Huy Fong foods, California maker of the famous Sriracha hot sauce, was “forced to suspend production of its iconic spicy sauces — Sriracha, Chili Garlic and Sambal Oelek — due to a lack of chili peppers.” (source)

An unprecedented crop failure last spring of the chiles that are grown in California and Mexico just for Huy Fong was the cause of the interruption in production: another consequence of the widespread drought. Another non-climate factor: a large judgement against the company in a lawsuit brought by the chili grower in California also may have had some impact on the corporation.

In the photo, in my kitchen, you can see my supplies of Sriracha hot sauce and chili garlic sauce. I just purchased the new jar of chili-garlic sauce last week. The Korean and Indian specialty shops where I shopped seemed to have ample supplies of the product in several sizes. I’m not sure of the details, but I think that supplies of Sriracha products, which were scarce over the summer, have now returned to normal. Still, this drought-related interruption in supply is another example of the way that food supplies in our time are unpredictable.

Orange Juice: No More “Florida’s Natural”

“Florida’s Natural” Labels:
The Old: "NOT FROM CONCENTRATE NON GMO"
The New: "FROM CONCENTRATE"
(photos are from supermarket websites)

Let's talk about orange juice. Until recently, the juice you would find in my kitchen was often from the growers' coop "Florida's Natural." Not any more! 

Look carefully at the old label on the left and the new one on the right. I've always avoided packaged juice that is reconstituted from concentrate; the quality is just not the same. I’ve found other brands are still not from concentrate, and I hope that will continue.

The sad fact is that production of oranges in Florida’s citrus groves is no longer adequate to supply American OJ-drinking habits. Diseases of the trees, insect pests, and disastrous weather events have devastated the citrus crops for several years. After decades of emphasizing that all their juice was grown in Florida, the Florida’s Natural growers now explain : 

"Unfortunately, the Florida orange crop has been declining for decades while our fans continue to buy more and more Florida's Natural orange juice. The Florida orange crop can no longer meet our consumer demand, so we are adding in only the best Mexican Valencia orange juice."

Besides all the other problems, hurricane Ian resulted in a total loss of this year’s crop for many citrus farmers in its path, and up to 30% of their trees may be lost. “Even before the storm, the USDA had predicted the Florida orange crop would be down by a third this year.” (NPR, October 14)

Sweetness for a Warming Planet 

Throughout the world, in kitchens everywhere, you can find a variety of food supplies affected by heat, drought, fires, and exceptional storms. Honeybees in the US have suffered from “colony collapse” which is probably a result of decreased availability of pollen sources, due to climate change. Another source of sweetness: the sugar-maple groves in Michigan, Vermont, and Canada; these trees have become less productive because of unpredictable weather in spring, when the sap is gathered for maple syrup. Sugar cane cultivation has also been affected by storms and heat waves. Also food for thought: unlike many other crops, cane sugar production is a major producer of greenhouse gases that drive climate change.

In my kitchen: sugar, honey, maple syrup.

An article "Turkey's Honey Apocalypse is a Warning to the World" (in the Atlantic, published October 28) summarizes how unprecedented heat and fires are affecting beekeepers in Turkey, California, Morocco, India, and Australia, diminishing the number of productive hives in a number of ways. The importance of bees as pollinators of other crop disrupt agricultural success. The article is specifically focused on the way that wildfires of exceptional intensity destroyed large numbers of honey-producing beehives in Turkey and Greece in 2021. One of the local Turkish favorite types of honey is now virtually unavailable.

On a global scale, the article points out: "bees are an integral part of our ecosystems, and the destruction of bees and their habitats can affect the pollination of plants that produce almonds, coffee, and more. As heat waves and fires sweep through North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, sweetness and sustenance are too often reduced to ash."

No Matter How Bad Things Are, Have a Happy Halloween!

Don’t worry, we do have something other than vegetables in the house.

In fact, we are ready for the trick-or-treaters. I promise not to eat any before 6 PM.
Candy prices have gone up a lot, but that’s yet another discussion!

Blog post © 2022 mae sander. 

Shared with Sherry’s In My Kitchen Blog Party 

and with Elizabeth’s weekly tea party.