Heat May Spark World Food Crisis

It’s hard to think about heat and drought when one has to wear four layers of clothes and to keep a fire going all day just to be able to function in semi-comfort. But yes, I do recognize that while we’re trying not to freeze in our own tiny corner of the world, people in other corners are likely experiencing other extremes. What’s more, staying comfortable could very well be the least of their concerns.

In a new report, US scientists warn that half the world’s population could face a food crisis by 2100 due to extreme climate conditions. 2100 seems so far away–I know B and I would be six feet under by then–but for the kids who are just now being planned or born, that’s in their lifetime. 

“The stresses on global food production from temperature alone are going to be huge,” said Mr Battisti, a professor of atmospheric sciences, in an interview with BBC. ”And that doesn’t take into account water supplies stressed by the higher temperatures.”

Dr Geoff Hawtin, director general of the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and a former executive secretary of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, says that because we don’t know at what speed the growing season temperatures will rise, it’s crucial to act as quickly and efficiently as possible. ”We don’t know where the tipping points are,” he told BBC News, “they could come quite quickly.”

What can we do about this? Lots. Such as:

First, you can read the full article here, to get a better picture of the problem.

Second, let’s each do our part in conserving crucial natural resources, like water. Without water, we’re all kaput. And with the exponential increase in human populations, combined with drastic changes in the environment due to global warming and other causes, the earth’s water supply is fast-approaching the red zone. For ideas on water conservation, clicky here.

 

Third, if you can’t eliminate meat from your diet (and that is your right and choice), then please do consider cutting down on your intake. Raising huge quantities of animals for consumption destroys top soil crucial for farming and contributes to global warming. As I mentioned in a previous post, if we ate the plants we feed to animals, it will help solve the world’s food crisis.

Cheers, and thanks for listening.

Conversations With X

The following are rough transcripts of phone conversations between B, my hubby, and X, someone very dear to us. Translated from French.

I. This Morning

B: So, just to let you know, we’ve finally decided to go vegetarian.
X: Really?
B: Yes. Remember? We were talking about it over Christmas.
X: Yes, yes. (pause) But you’ll still eat fish, right?
B: No. No animals. 
X: No fish? How about mussels? Clams? Shrimps?
B: Nope. Nothing that was previously alive.
X: (alarmed) But so what will you eat?!
B: (laughing) Oh, you know. Tomatoes with eggs…vegetables…fruits…We just want to avoid meat.
X: I see. (pause) But not when we’re at so-and-so’s house, right?
B: Yes.
X: Even there?
B: We have to. Either we do this or we don’t. 
X: But you cannot NOT eat meat at so-and-so!
B: (laughing) I’m sure they’ll also have delicious vegetables, right? It’s important for us to stick to this.
X: Yes, yes. Of course. For your health. 
B: Yes, for that, but more importantly, for our beliefs. We can’t stand to see animals suffer.
X: I know. Of course. It’s out of respect. I completely understand.
B: Thanks. We know you would!

II. This Afternoon

X: So I was thinking…you’ll still have choucroute* at my choucroute party, right?
B: You mean the choucroute that has at least three different types of meat in it? (laughs)
Nope. We’ll probably just eat the cabbage, nothing more.
X: Okay. I see. (pause) But you’ll at least eat quiche?
B: (knowing that the quiche in question is usually stuffed with bacon) Uhm, no. Sorry!
X: Just vegetables? That’s it?
B: And fruit.

(long pause) 

X: (in a tone that suggests let’s wait and see) I guess if that’s what you want.
 

*A specialty in France’s Alsace region, the choucroute is similar to the German dish, sauerkraut. Often cooked in wine, it is made out of pickled cabbages, potatoes and several different types of meat (e.g. smoked ham hocks and sausages)

Lovable, Gruesome Roald Dahl

I *heart* Roald Dahl. As a kid, I spent most of my allowance and countless afternoons browsing through bookstore bins full of old mags and Danielle Steel paperbacks, and it was always a good day when I chanced upon something by Roald Dahl. How I wished then that there really was a Chocolate Factory!  (A quick Google search tells me that there are, in fact, many–but that’s another topic.)

While I remember him to be an unsentimental writer, I never realized how gruesome Dahl could be. Until today. Most well-known for his novels for children (James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Dahl apparently was also a prolific writer of short stories and snippets for adults. And believe you me, he doesn’t mince words. Which makes me *heart* him even more.

Following, for example, is a poem he wrote about pigs. And here, beautfiully illustrated by Max Hattler and Martin Heaton  (albeit abridged), is a short story he wrote about pigs. Pigs figure pretty highly in Dahl’s world, and frankly, that’s how it should be.

The Pig

In England once there lived a big
And wonderfully clever pig.
To everybody it was plain
That Piggy had a massive brain.
He worked out sums inside his head,
There was no book he hadn’t read.
He knew what made an airplane fly,
He knew how engines worked and why.
He knew all this, but in the end
One question drove him round the bend:
He simply couldn’t puzzle out
What LIFE was really all about.
What was the reason for his birth?
Why was he placed upon this earth?
His giant brain went round and round.
Alas, no answer could be found.
Till suddenly one wondrous night.
All in a flash he saw the light.
He jumped up like a ballet dancer
And yelled, “By gum, I’ve got the answer!”
“They want my bacon slice by slice
“To sell at a tremendous price!
“They want my tender juicy chops
“To put in all the butcher’s shops!
“They want my pork to make a roast
“And that’s the part’ll cost the most!
“They want my sausages in strings!
“They even want my chitterlings!
“The butcher’s shop! The carving knife!
“That is the reason for my life!”
Such thoughts as these are not designed
To give a pig great piece of mind.
Next morning, in comes Farmer Bland,
A pail of pigswill in his hand,
And piggy with a mighty roar,
Bashes the farmer to the floor…
Now comes the rather grizzly bit
So let’s not make too much of it,
Except that you must understand
That Piggy did eat Farmer Bland,
He ate him up from head to toe,
Chewing the pieces nice and slow.
It took an hour to reach the feet,
Because there was so much to eat,
And when he finished, Pig, of course,
Felt absolutely no remorse.
Slowly he scratched his brainy head
And with a little smile he said,
“I had a fairly powerful hunch
“That he might have me for his lunch. ”
And so, because I feared the worst,
“I thought I’d better eat him first.” 

You can also listen to a podcast of The Pig here.