Via Emily Atikin at Climate Progress, word is that if climate change isn't halted, the burrito joint won't be able to afford certain ingredients:
Chipotle Inc. is warning investors that extreme weather events "associated with global climate change" might eventually affect the availability of some of its ingredients. If availability is limited, prices will rise — and Chipotle isn't sure it's willing to pay...
"In the event of cost increases with respect to one or more of our raw ingredients we may choose to temporarily suspend serving menu items, such as guacamole or one or more of our salsas, rather than paying the increased cost for the ingredients," [the chain said]. [Climate Progress]
So how much guacamole are we talking about here? A lot:
The guacamole operation at Chipotle is massive. The company uses, on average, 97,000 pounds of avocado every day to make its guac — which adds up to 35.4 million pounds of avocados every year. And while the avocado industry is fine at the moment, scientists are anticipating drier conditions due to climate change, which may have negative effects on California's crop. Scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, for example, predict hotter temps will cause a 40 percent drop in California's avocado production over the next 32 years. [Climate Progress]
Just one way more glimpse of the fact that climate change isn't an environmental issue in a normal sense. Left unchecked, it will impoverish us in many more serious ways than our avocado intake.
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