No matter how you look at it, climate change will alter what we eat in the future. Today, just 13 crops provide 80 percent of the energy intake of people around the world, and about half of our calories come from wheat, corn, and rice. However, some of these crops may not grow well with higher temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, and extreme weather events caused by climate change. Droughts, heat waves and flash floods are already damaging crops worldwide.
“We must diversify our food basket,” says Festo Massawe. He is executive director of Future Food Beacon Malaysia, a group at the University of Nottingham Malaysia’s Semenyih campus that studies the impact of climate change on food security.
That goes beyond what we eat to how we grow it. The trick will be investing in every possible solution: growing crops to be more climate-resilient, genetically engineering food in the lab and studying crops we don’t know enough about, says ecologist Samuel Pironon of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. in London. To feed a growing population in a rapidly changing world, food scientists are exploring many possible avenues while thinking about how to be environmentally friendly.
Consumer preferences are also part of the equation. “It has to be the right mix of: looks good, tastes good, and is priced right,” says Halley Froehlich, an aquaculture and fisheries scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Here are six foods that could tick all those boxes and appear more prominently on supermarket menus and shelves in the future.
1. millet
Source of: Carbohydrates, proteins, minerals (potassium, phosphorus and magnesium)
Applications: whole grain; flour, pasta, chips, gluten-free beer
The United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of the Millet (some varieties exist). Quinoa earned the same honor in 2013 and its sales skyrocketed. First cultivated in Asia about 10,000 years ago, millet is a staple grain in parts of Asia and Africa. Compared to wheat, maize and rice, millet is much more weather resistant; the crop needs little water and thrives in warmer, drier environments. Some more good news: millet is one of many ancient grains, including teff, amaranth, and sorghum, that are equally sustainable and hardy (not to mention can be made into beer).
2. Bambara peanut
Source of: Proteins, fiber, minerals (potassium, magnesium and iron)
Applications: Roasted or boiled; gluten-free flour; dairy free milk
You have heard of almond milk and soy milk. The next alternative in your cafeteria could be made with Bambara peanuts, a drought-tolerant legume native to sub-Saharan Africa. Like other legumes, the Bambara peanut is packed with protein. And bacteria in the plant convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, so peanuts grow well in nutrient-poor soil without chemical fertilizers. AN better understanding of the plantsays Festo Massawe of Future Food Beacon Malaysia, it could pave the way for breeding programs to help the Bambara groundnut become as popular as soybeans, a legume that produces high yields but is less drought tolerant.
3. mussels
Source of: Proteins, omega-3, vitamin B12, minerals (iron, manganese and zinc)
Applications: steamed; added to pasta dishes, stews, soups
A delicious linguine with mussels could one day become a weekday regular on the family menu. Mussels and other bivalves, including oysters, clams and scallops, could offset about 40 percent of seafood by 2050according to a 2020 report in Nature. With no need for irrigation or fertilization, bivalve farms are ideal for expansion, which would lower prices for consumers. All bivalves have merit, but Halley Froehlich of UC Santa Barbara singles out mussels as “super hardy,” “super nutritious” and under-promoted. One downside: Shell-forming creatures are under threat as rising carbon levels increase ocean acidification. Kelp might be able to help.
4. seaweed
Source of: Vitamins, minerals (iodine, calcium and iron), antioxidants
Applications: Salads, smoothies, salsa, pickles, noodles and chips; also found in toothpaste, shampoo, and biofuels
Kelp has some great tricks for the weather. For one thing, by taking up carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, you can lower the acidity of its aqueous environment. Farmers in Maine and Alaska grow kelp and bivalves together so the shellless creatures can benefit from the less acidic water. Kelp also sequesters carbon, like trees underwater. That means growing and eating more algae could be good for the environment. While kelp and other seaweeds have been widely consumed in Asia for thousands of years, they are still an acquired taste in many Western countries.
5. set
Source of: Carbohydrates, calcium, potassium and zinc
Applications: porridge or bread; also used to make rope, plates, and building materials
The drought-tolerant enset, grown in Ethiopia, is nicknamed “mock banana” because the plant resembles a banana tree, although its fruit is inedible. It is also called “the famine tree” because its starchy stems can be harvested at any time of the year, making it a reliable buffer food crop during dry spells. A 2021 report on Environmental investigation letters suggests that the range of the enset could be expanded to other parts of Africa, and possibly beyond. The processing required to make enset edible is complex, says study author James Borrell, of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. So any expansion would have to be led by the communities that hold that indigenous knowledge.
6. Cassava
Source of: Carbohydrates, potassium, vitamin C
Applications: whole cooked root; gluten-free flour; tapioca pearls in bubble tea
Cassava, a starchy root vegetable from South America, checks the boxes for climate resilience, sustainability, and nutrition. Now grown in more than 100 countries, cassava can withstand temperatures of up to 40° Celsius and tolerates salt and drought. An added advantage: higher atmospheric COtwo levels improve plant tolerance to stress and can lead to higher returns. Raw cassava can contain toxic levels of cyanide, but the chemical can be removed by peeling, soaking, and cooking the root.