Climate Change Drives Up Grocery Prices
Everyone has noticed the higher price of food when they shop at the grocery store. Climate change is contributing in a big way to these price increases. Depending on the particular food we talk about, climate change can be the single biggest cause of price hikes.
How does this work? First, extreme weather made more frequent by climate change has a direct impact. Hurricane Ian in 2022 resulted in a $416 million loss to the Florida citrus industry, resulting in increased prices at the store for orange juice and lemons. Then drought has caused crop loss insurance costs to skyrocket and prices for crops sensitive to drought, such as rice and wheat, have surged.
California produces nearly half of U.S. grown fruits, nuts and vegetables. It is the only state that exports walnuts, raisins, almonds, artichokes, pistachios, garlic and figs. California has nine of the ten highest producing agricultural counties in the U.S. and 49% of the country’s production. In 2023, extreme swings in California delayed planting and destroyed crops, including 20% of the state’s strawberry crop.
The Yale Climate Connections website reports that corn, wheat, rice and potatoes — staples of our diets — are among the crops most susceptible to changes in weather patterns. Rice, for example, cannot get efficiently self-pollinated in hotter temperatures, degrading the grain quality and reducing its yield.
By 2030, increases in temperature and changes in rainfall patterns will cause significant reductions in the nutritional quality of wheat and a 24% reduction in maize yield. Yields of corn fall dramatically after the temperature reaches about 86 degrees F.
Grocery prices have outpaced overall inflation over the past four years. All goods and services were affected by the pandemic and supply-chain disruptions. But the big difference for food price inflation over other items is climate change. Unless we get a handle on climate change, there will have to be a reallocation of household budgets so that food accounts for a larger portion of our income.
