Climate Change &
Food Security

Not a Future Problem

Climate change is not a future problem. It is already reshaping how food is grown, transported, and priced around the world — and the people who can least afford it are being hit the hardest.

Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and increasingly severe weather — droughts, floods, heat waves, and wildfires — are disrupting agricultural systems on every continent. Crops that once thrived in certain regions are failing as growing seasons shift and water supplies become unpredictable. Livestock suffer from heat stress. Fisheries decline as warming oceans push species into new waters and disrupt marine food chains.

When Supply Drops, Prices Rise

When harvests shrink but demand stays the same, prices rise. The cost of staple foods like wheat, rice, corn, and soybeans is increasingly volatile, driven by extreme weather events that wipe out crops in major producing regions. For families already living on tight budgets, even modest price increases can mean the difference between eating and going hungry.

Farming itself is becoming more expensive. Farmers are forced to invest in irrigation, pest-resistant seeds, and new technologies to adapt to changing conditions. In many developing countries, smallholder farmers lack the resources to make these investments, trapping them in a cycle of declining yields and deepening poverty.

Climate change also threatens the nutritional quality of food. Elevated carbon dioxide levels reduce the protein, iron, and zinc content of staple crops. Even when food is available, it may be less nourishing than it was a generation ago.

What Needs to Change