The global food system faces growing risks from climate change, even as farmers seek to adapt, according to a June 18 study in Nature.
The global food system faces growing risks from climate change, even as farmers seek to adapt, according to a June 18 study in Nature.
In contrast to previous studies suggesting that warming could increase global food production, the researchers estimate that every additional degree Celsius of global warming on average will drag down the world’s ability to produce food by 120 calories per person per day, or 4.4% of current daily consumption.
“When global production falls, consumers are hurt because prices go up and it gets harder to access food and feed our families,” said Solomon Hsiang, professor of environmental social sciences at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and a senior author of the study. “If the climate warms by 3 degrees, that’s basically like everyone on the planet giving up breakfast.” That’s a high cost for a world where more than 800 million people at times go a day or more without food because of inadequate access.
Read More: Stanford University
Projected end-of-century change in crop yields resulting from climate change in a scenario where emissions remain high, accounting for adaptation to climate and increasing incomes. (Photo Credit: Adapted from Hultgren et al. Nature, 2025)
