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Consequences Of Climate Change On Food Systems

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The agricultural sector in the United States contributes largely to both rural and national social and economic development; however, it is greatly affected by climatic changes. As the world population is expected to increase up to approximately nine billion by 2050, climate change affects the stability of food production and poses food security challenges in the US (Hatfield et al. 2014). Smith et al. 2013, argued that negative impact of climate change on agriculture have a direct impact on global food security. This essay will address the consequences of climate change on food systems in the United States and possible mitigation measures and policies.
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) in the United States is one of the …show more content…

There are very many impacts of climate change on agriculture and well-being of humanity. First of all, it has impacts on the biological effects of crop fields, per capita energy consumption and child malnutrition, and outcome of prices and production (Smith et al. 2013). Globalization of food systems increases the vulnerability of the world to food security and increased food prices. In 2010, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization doubled the price index because of the weather conditions in food exporting nations like Australia, United States, and Russia (Hatfield et al. 2014)
Secondly, different crops respond to climate differently as they depend on carbon dioxide, temperature, solar energy, and precipitation (Walthall et al. 2013). Each plant species do well at an optimum concentration of the above requirements. Therefore any alteration to these levels in the atmosphere will lead to a decline in crop yield or plants would adapt to the changes over time. Also, temperature and precipitation changes also lead to an increase in the number of dry days and hot nights (Hatfield et al. 2014). The increase in the number of dry days and hot nights has a devastating effect on crop and animal production.
Furthermore, Walthall et al. 2013 confirmed that livestock production systems are susceptible to stress arising from temperature fluctuations. The ability of livestock to adjust their metabolic rates to meet the temperature changes

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