U.N. report warns climate change, land exploitation threaten food supply
A United Nations scientific report released Thursday says climate change, along with unprecedented exploitation of land and water resources, could threaten the world's food supply. "The cycle is accelerating," said NASA climate scientist Cynthia Rosenzweig, a report co-author. "The threat of climate change affecting people's food on their dinner table is increasing."
The report said that climate change is worsening land degradation by thawing permafrost, causing deserts to expand, and making forests more vulnerable to fire, drought, and pests. But efforts to curb greenhouse gas-emissions, which are blamed for climate change, and to counter the effects of global warming, could be in vain without major changes in global land use and agriculture. Even human diets must change, with the report recommending people eat less meat.
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