Just like with coffee and chocolate crops, climate change is affecting plants all over the world. As global temperatures rise, growing regions are changing, and for the maple syrup industry in the northeast United States that could spell disaster.
Martha Carlson, a New Hampshire maple farmer, noticed that her trees were acting funny. The leaves were changing too quickly in the fall, and the sap was darker than usual. What she discovered is that climate change has been harming her maple trees, and those 300-year-old trees could be gone by the next century.
2100 sounds like it’s a long way off, but it really isn’t. If we had begun addressing climate change back in the 60’s, where would we be at this point? We need to start making changes now to protect maple growers, who are already seeing changes in their sugar maples.
Here’s Martha Carlson talking about her trees, how climate change is affecting her livelihood, and what she’s doing about it:
What You Can Do
If we want to combat the effects of climate change, it’s on all of us to make changes. It could mean driving less and riding your bike more. You can reduce your food miles and shop locally, rather than supporting industrial agriculture, which is responsible for a huge portion of global emissions. Anything you can do in your daily life to reduce your fossil fuel consumption can make a difference not just for maple farmers, but for all food producers who struggling because of climate change.
More on Climate Change and Food
- Climate Change and Rise in Food Prices
- Peanut Butter Prices Rising Due to Climate Change
- Global Warming Threatens Chocolate
- Global Warming Endangers Coffee Crops
h/t: Ecopreneurist
Image Credit: Maple Tree image via Shutterstock
