Well, it can. But it probably shouldn’t.
I’m not sure it can for long. And that is a depressing thought (I love my almonds and walnuts).
And artichokes!
I guess humans have been adapting their food preferences to their environment for some time now. I guess we will need to adapt?
Adaptation is what keeps us at the top of the food chain.
I won’t be around long enough to have to worry about it.
I thought I remembered something similar about food / water / climate recently
Problem is that it’s not just fine dining. Many of these crops are just a part of daily dining
I always draw back when I see the phrase “fine dining”. It’s just that I don’t really understand what it means. Is Restaurant A that I go to “fine dining”, whereas Restaurant B isn’t. How do I know? Should I care?
Whinge ends.
So, I read the article and thought it made a lot of sense. Climate change is effecting us all. In this cold, damp part of northern Europe, we import somewhere between 40 and 50% of our total food. That rockets up to around 80 - 90% of crops like tomatoes, many of which are grown in much hotter countries such as Spain. The drought there in 2023 caused some shortages here and I suspect these supply issues are set to continue and worsen. So, a life without a tomato? Maybe wealthy Brits will continue to be able to afford to buy them. Maybe folk less well off might get excited to receive a kilo as a birthday present? Maybe tomatoes will again become a seasonal product - only available when we can grow them here (no toms in the winter). Maybe it will be like when I was a child in the 50s and Father Christmas would always bring a tangerine along with toys.
I know. I was being facetious. We’re all going to hell in a hand basket.
WE are the plague on this planet. The planet will be fine, but we’ll just be a blip a few million years from now
My sisters and I used to laugh (not believe) our parents when they said receiving an orange in their Christmas stocking in the 30s was the highlight of the holidays. We may be heading there again. I guess my favorite pineapple mango juice will be out of the question here in the Mid-Atlantic in the future?
My dad told me the same thing…got an orange for Christmas, having grown up during the Great Depression. He thought it was a great gift, and we always got oranges for Christmas as kids.
BTW, I gave up eating almonds. It takes between 1 to 3 gallons of water to grow one (1) almond, or 2,000 gallons to grow a pound. California ag biz has used so much ground water, the Central Valley has sunk several feet in some places. This is NOT just a fine dining issue. This kind of ag is unsustainable. But almonds are one of California’s biggest exports.
I guess I should rethink my fondness for almonds . . .maybe treat them like a Christmas treat?
My previous ignorance was bliss though
Pistachios are far superior anyway
The even crazier thing is almond milk.
I have a niece who won’t use anything else. Maybe I’ll broach the water issue with her some time.
Pistachios are ok, but they’ll never replace almonds in chocolate or baked goods.
Maybe not in baked goods, although I prefer pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts covered in chocolate over almonds. I think I only like almonds in ajo blanco
The season of Goliath I linked earlier was entirely about this — massive sink holes and droughts for normal people caused by the almond business “owning” the water table. Really shocking.
I was gobsmacked to see California almonds being pushed by a massive ad campaign in India.
Almonds are considered a premium nut in India, with the most superior quality (Mamra) coming from Kashmir, Afghanistan, and Iran. California almonds are considered the lowest quality and priced at 1/4 to 1/6 the price of the top Mamra available.
But the market is huge, and having a luxury item available at a fraction of the price is tempting.