Climate change threaten plants that produce household staples

Are chocolate, coffee and bananas now endangered? Climate change threaten plants that produce household staples – meaning they could disappear from supermarket shelves in less than 30 years

• Warns cocoa-growing regions Ghana and Ivory Coast become too hot by 2050
• Half of surface area currently used for coffee farming will be no longer suitable
• READ MORE: How middle class is YOUR favourite chocolate? 

Chocolate, coffee and bananas could disappear from supermarket shelves in less than 30 years because of climate change.

Hotter temperatures threaten the plants that produce chocolate, coffee and bananas and could lead to them becoming scarce, according to the Fairtrade Foundation.

A new report, titled ‘Endangered Aisle’, has been published by the charity, which supports disadvantaged farmers in developing countries through its Fairtrade mark.

It warns cocoa-growing regions Ghana and Ivory Coast, which produce more than half the world’s crop, will become too hot by 2050 to grow the beans the UK relies on for its chocolate.

And within three decades as much as half of the global surface area currently used for coffee farming could no longer be suitable due to climate change, according to analysis by the 3Keel consultancy, which advises on sustainability.

Chocolate, coffee and bananas could disappear from supermarket shelves in less than 30 years because of climate change

More than 90 per cent of Fairtrade Kenyan coffee producers say they are already experiencing the effects – with more erratic rainfall and an increase in pests and diseases.

Three quarters of Britons are aware that global warming is impacting their supermarket shop but only 38 per cent are making changes, say study authors.

READ MORE: Study finds risk of stroke can rise by 10 per cent by having an extra bar of chocolate everyday

A spokeswoman said: ‘Say goodbye to banana bread, farewell flat whites and ciao to chocolate, as experts warn these products could be off our supermarket shelves as a result of climate change – in as little as the next 30 years.’

Fairtrade Foundation chief Mike Gidney added: ‘It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee – because it may not be on our shelves forever.

‘Today, climate breakdown is making it harder and harder to grow food crops, making our food security ever more vulnerable.

‘There is a risk that farmers will have to stop farming.’

Mr Gidney urged UK customers to buy Fairtrade goods so producers receive a fair price that enables them to invest in sustainable farming.

Caitlin McCormack, 3Keel Senior Consultant, which carried out analysis for the report said: ‘The UK sources a significant proportion of consumer favourites including bananas, coffee and cocoa from countries that face potential risks to future production, including from changes in the climate and the loss of biodiversity and habitat that provide ecosystem services that are critical to farming.

‘It’s essential that we work with producers in these countries to help them shift to sustainable and resilient methods of production.’

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