Food
The changing climate will largely impact food security globally, affecting low-income, minority, and marginalized communities disproportionately. Fluctuating temperatures, precipitation patterns, and increasing extremities in natural disasters weaken our current food supply chain in both the global north and south. The following resources explain the relationship between food and the climate, provide insight into where your produce is from and depict organizations working to combat food insecurity and its related impacts.
Climate Change & Food - Chapter 5 of the IPCC report on Food and land proposes mitigation and adaptation responses to increasing food insecurity.
Food System Primer - Developed by the John Hopkins Center for a Liveable Future, the food system primer is a tool dedicated to educators, students, climate enthusiasts, and more. Various sections addressing produce-related challenges are presented by digestible articles and studies, as well as additional resources for those interested in further growing their knowledge on select topics.
Indigenous Food Systems Network - This network was designed to increase knowledge and awareness of “Indigenous food-related actions, research and policy reform”.
Innovation at the World Food Program (WFP) - The WFP is a branch of the United Nations that focuses on addressing hunger and food security globally. Through the Innovation program, the WFP is able to provide funding and hands-on support to scale up and support high potential ideas which would address this humanitarian crisis.
UN Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM) - GLEAM is a GIS framework that observes and captures various environmental impacts of the livestock sector supply chain. The data gathered is observed and can be analyzed to determine solutions that could diminish the stress on natural resources that this sector has.
USDA Food Composition Database - This research tool shares detailed information regarding food composition, especially for foods where these details may not be so obvious. Variations in the food supply chain have increased the demand for transparency in this area. While this is still a preliminary and growing tool, it can be an easy way of accessing a lot of details about your favorite foods!
How to Calculate the Water Footprint of any Food - Tool created by the Water Footprint Network which provides step-by-step instructions on how to calculate the water footprint from different producers.
California Crops + Drought (2021) - the state's accelerating drought emergency is placing stress on the communities as well as food systems. Agricultural heartlands are increasingly vulnerable to large-scale loss which would have an impact on the local economy and national supply chain.