Peak Food

The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows many ways that food production will be hit as the world warms up.

One of the least known is the conclusion that carbon dioxide emissions have already increased the acidity of ocean surface water by 30 %, and could treble it by the end of the century. This is said to be the most profound change in the chemistry of the oceans for 20 million years and is expected to disrupt the entire web of life of the oceans, reducing productivity.

Fish has been a very important part of many people’s diet and a significant contributer to the total food available to humans. Wild fish is already under threat due to over fishing so that with this additional problem of acid oceans, the per capita availability of wild fish is bound to fall as populations rise. In turn this will contribute to Peak Food.