In Age of Extreme Weather, Industrial Farming Threatens Us All

In Age of Extreme Weather, Industrial Farming Threatens Us All
New study reveals even developed nations are on the front lines of food insecurity

by Nadia Prupis, staff writer


Extreme weather is damaging to crop production and threatens food safety worldwide, according to a new study published in Nature on Wednesday.

And the most developed nations like the U.S., which rely heavily on industrial monocultures for food production, are particularly vulnerable.

The study, which evaluated cereal production losses due to extreme weather in 177 countries from 1964-2007, found that "droughts and extreme heat significantly reduced national cereal production by 9–10%....Furthermore, the results highlight ~7% greater production damage from more recent droughts and 8–11% more damage in developed countries than in developing ones."

"That was a surprise to us," Navin Ramankutty, an agricultural geographer at the University of British Columbia and co-author of the study, told Mother Jones on Wednesday. .................(more)

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/07/age-extreme-weather-industrial-farming-threatens-us-all