How the climate crisis threatens our food — and the the people that grow it
A.Around the world, the harvests we have long relied on to provide the food we know and love are dwindling. spanish olives, Florida oranges, Ghanaian cocoa beans And Costa Rican pineapples These are among the harvests affected by climate shocks that have affected food supplies and prices on supermarket shelves over the past few years.
This increasing climate risk is one of the many reasons why NGOs and ethical investors are campaigning hard for the UK to implement climate change. Mandatory controls regarding environmental impact and human rights in supply chains as part of a campaign described as a “once in a decade” opportunity to clean up the UK’s global footprint.
This being the case, the lack of due diligence legislation means that there is no clear data showing the number of companies in the UK that are effectively monitoring and responding to risks in their supply chains. However, the indicators we have show that this is very little; A recent assessment found that food and beverage companies 15/100 in efforts to monitor labor standards.
The introduction of a new supply chain law means measures could be put in place to ensure the food we love remains available at a fair price all year round, campaigners say.
This will also help ensure that farmers and suppliers at the other end of the chain receive a fair deal, which in turn will better adapting to the climate crisis.
Evidence of why we need to strengthen our food systems against the climate threat can be found at: high inflation for months England’s recent experience and the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee Warned in August report It was at least partly due to extreme weather conditions around the world driving up the cost of certain foods.
Among the crops that increased the price was coffee; data shows prices on commodity markets (including Arabica beans from Brazil and Robusta beans from Vietnam) rose sharply throughout 2023 and 2024 following unusually hot and dry weather in both countries.
These increases were followed by a significant increase in the Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) of coffee in the UK.
The data also shows that beef and dairy inflation is particularly high in the UK. A succession of extreme weather conditions, including summer droughts, unseasonal rainfall and flooding, have reduced pasture productivity and disrupted grazing patterns across much of the UK. Drought in Brazil’s Amazon region and pasture fires in Australia have also increased the prices of beef imports from these markets.
Extreme climatic conditions also affected dairy production, pushing the butter inflation rate to 18.9 percent on an annual basis throughout 2025. Experts warn that such situations will become more common in the future if precautions are not taken.
“Climate-related food price risks could worsen significantly,” says Christian Jaccarini of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit. “We have already passed a turning point for climate – the point of no return. warm water coral reefs – with significant implications for fisheries worldwide. And as the government’s recent national security assessment says, all critical global ecosystems are now in play.a road to collapse‘”.
“This would have profound consequences, including water insecurity, reduced crop yields, loss of arable land, collapse of fisheries, increased disease risks and acceleration of climate change,” he adds.
For now, richer countries that supply Britain with food, such as Brazil and Australia, can invest in new technologies to protect against climate risks.
“There has been a lot of progress in agricultural technologies leading to yield increases,” explains Sabine Altendorf, an economist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). “New machines like drones, precision application of pesticides and fertilizers, and technologies like drip irrigation [involving the slow, even application of low-pressure water] they all lead to improvements.”
But Altendorf adds that these technologies are “very expensive.” for small scale farmers in developing countries – which provide about a third of the world’s food and large amounts of teaThe coffee, cocoa and tropical fruits we consume in the UK remain largely inaccessible for now, making them difficult to adapt to climate shocks.
“Although agricultural yields have been at the same level globally so far, we see that climate and adverse weather conditions are leading to yield losses among small farmers. really dire consequences“explains Altendorf.
The challenges they face are exacerbated by the pricing of Global North retailers.bananas and pineapples are often cheaper Altendorf says it is preferred over native fruits such as cherries or apples.
What’s more, aid programs that have historically supported farmers’ adaptation to climate change are increasingly under threat as countries such as the US and UK reduce their overseas spending. For example, U.S. funding to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which runs many climate adaptation programs in developing countries, decreased by more than half from the previous year.
The decline in public money for aid programs is another reason why campaigners argue that mandatory supply chain due diligence is important in the UK; because it will help ensure that the UK’s trade and investment abroad returns truly fair profits to those who provide our food.
“with Cuts to official development aid in the UK and globallyMartin Rhodes, Labor MP and Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Fair Trade Group, says: Independent.
“The Government’s latest trade strategy contains very welcome and strong commitments to include human rights and environmental standards in trade policy. I hope the responsible business conduct review builds on this and leads to a clear commitment to introducing HREDD in the next Parliamentary Session.”
News on whether the UK will introduce a mandatory supply chain law is currently expected in March, according to campaigners.
This article was produced as part of The Independent. Rethinking Global Aid project
