Grains, coffee and citrus are among foods threatened by rising temperatures. Some species may go completely extinct without new solutions

Credit: Public Domain Pictures
Credit: Public Domain Pictures

There are some ways in which we can definitely expect climate change to alter what we eat. Here are some of the everyday crops that will be affected by those alterations — and which, in turn, will shift what you can eat.

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“Coffee arabica is known to be specifically vulnerable to climate change impacts,” Dr. Roman Grüter, Life Sciences faculty at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, told Salon by email. “Future suitability is going to be decreased due to sensitivity to high temperatures.”

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Rice has the dubious distinction of both contributing to global warming — an estimated 12% of global methane emissions come from rice production — while simultaneously being a major victim of climate change. As temperatures rise, droughts become more frequent, floods worsen and typhoons become increasingly severe, rice crops are expected to take a major hit.

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If you love the sweet, tangy flavor of oranges, lemons and limes, there is bad news. Citrus crops of all kinds are expected to take a hit from climate change. In the words of [Jonas] Jägermeyr: “Crops show largest losses in lower altitudes in topical and subtropical systems that are already warmer and thus closer to specific temperature limits of certain crops.”

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