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吃貨的噩耗!氣候變化正令10種食物變得瀕危

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拜氣候變化所賜,我們不但要適應更炎熱的天氣,而且能吃到的美食也更少了。你最愛的一些美食可能在30年後就吃不到了,來看看哪些食物會因爲氣候變化而“瀕危”?

吃貨的噩耗!氣候變化正令10種食物變得瀕危

1 Coffee 咖啡

Whether or not you try to limit yourself to one cup of coffee a day, the effects of climate change on the world's coffee-growing regions may leave you little choice.

不論你是否試着讓自己每天只喝一杯咖啡,氣候變化對全世界咖啡種植區的影響恐怕會讓你別無選擇。

Coffee plantations in South America, Africa, Asia, and Hawaii are all being threatened by rising air temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns, which invite disease and invasive species to infest the coffee plant and ripening beans. The result? Significant cuts in coffee yield (and less coffee in your cup).

氣溫升高和降雨模式異常給南美、非洲、亞洲和夏威夷的咖啡種植園帶來了病害和入侵物種,對咖啡植株和成長中的咖啡豆造成了威脅。結果就是咖啡收成大幅下降(你能喝到的咖啡自然也就少了)。

Organizations like Australia's Climate Institute estimate that, if current climate patterns continue, half of the areas presently suitable for coffee production won't be by the year 2050.

澳洲氣候研究所等組織估計,如果當前的氣候模式持續,到2050年現在的咖啡種植區有一半將不再適合種植咖啡。

2 Chocolate 巧克力

Coffee's culinary cousin, cacao (aka chocolate), is also suffering stress from global warming's rising temperatures. But for chocolate, it isn't the warmer climate alone that's the problem. Cacao trees actually prefer warmer climates... as long as that warmth is paired with high humidity and abundant rain (i.e., a rainforest climate). According to the 2014 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the problem is, the higher temperatures projected for the world's leading chocolate-producing countries (Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia) are not expected to be accompanied by an increase in rainfall. So as higher temperatures sap More moisture from soil and plants through evaporation, it's unlikely that rainfall will increase enough to offset this moisture loss.

咖啡的美味伴侶可可豆(也就是巧克力)也遭受着全球變暖帶來的壓力。不過對於巧克力而言,氣候變暖並不是問題所在。可可樹其實更喜歡炎熱的天氣,前提是伴有較高的溼度和充足的雨水(也就是熱帶雨林氣候)。根據政府間氣候變化專門委員會2014年的報告,問題在於世界上主要巧克力生產國(科特迪瓦、加納和印尼)的高溫天氣並沒有伴隨着降雨的增多。高溫的蒸發帶走了泥土和植株的更多水分,而降雨又不足以抵消水分的流失。

In this same report, the IPCC predicts that these effects could reduce cocoa production, which means 1 million less tons of bars, truffles, and powder per year by 2020.

在這份報告中,政府間氣候變化專門委員會預計這些影響會令可可豆減產,這意味着在2020年前,每年生產出的巧克力棒、松露巧克力和巧克力粉會減少100萬噸。

3 Tea 茶

When it comes to tea (the world's 2nd favorite beverage next to water), warmer climates and erratic precipitation aren't only shrinking the world's tea-growing regions, they're also messing with its distinct flavor.

說到茶(世界上受歡迎程度僅次於水的飲料),氣候變暖和降水異常不但令全世界的茶葉種植區縮小,而且還在破壞茶的獨特風味。

For example, in India, researchers have already discovered that the Indian Monsoon has brought more intense rainfall, which waterlogs plants and dilutes tea flavor.

以印度爲例,研究人員已經發現印度季風帶來了更強降水,這會給茶園帶來澇災,令茶的味道變淡。

Recent research coming out of the University of Southampton suggests that tea-producing areas in some places, notably East Africa, could decline by as much as 55 percent by 2050 as precipitation and temperatures change.

南安普頓大學最近的研究指出,一些地方(尤其是東非)的產茶區,隨着降水和氣溫的變化,茶葉產量可能會在2050年前減少55%。

Tea pickers are also feeling the impacts of climate change. During harvest season, increased air temperatures are creating an increased risk of heatstroke for field workers.

採茶人也感受到了氣候變化的影響。在收穫季節,氣溫的升高會令採茶人更容易中暑。

4 Honey 蜂蜜

More than one-third of America's honeybees have been lost to Colony Collapse Disorder, but climate change is having its own effects on bee behavior. According to a 2016 US Department of Agriculture study, rising carbon dioxide levels are decreasing the protein levels in pollen — a bee's main food source. As a result, bees aren't getting enough nutrition, which in turn can lead to less reproduction and even eventual die-off. As USDA plant physiologist Lewis Ziska puts it, "Pollen is becoming junk food for bees."

超三分之一的美國蜜蜂都死於蜂羣衰竭失調症,但氣候變化對蜜蜂行爲也產生了影響。根據美國農業部2016年的一項研究,二氧化碳水平上升令花粉中的蛋白質水平下降,而花粉是蜜蜂的主要食物來源。結果蜜蜂不能獲得足夠的營養,從而影響繁衍甚至導致滅絕。正如美國農業部的植物生理學家路易斯·切斯卡所說,“花粉對蜜蜂而言正變成垃圾食品。”

But that's not the only way climate is messing with bees. Warmer temperatures and earlier snow melt can trigger earlier spring flowering of plants and trees; so early, in fact, that bees may still be in the larva stage and not yet mature enough to pollinate them.

不過這不是氣候讓蜜蜂遭殃的唯一方式。氣溫升高和融雪提早會讓植物和樹更早開花,事實上,正因爲花開得太早了,蜜蜂可能還在幼蟲期,沒有成熟到可以授粉。

The fewer worker bees to pollinate, the less honey they're able to make. And that means fewer crops too, since our fruits and vegetables exist thanks to the tireless flight and pollination by our native bees.

授粉的蜜蜂少了,釀出的蜂蜜也就少了。這也意味着農作物的收成會減少,因爲水果和蔬菜的長成都要仰仗蜜蜂飛來飛去地辛勤授粉。

5 Seafood 海鮮

Climate change is affecting the world's aquaculture as much as its agriculture.

氣候變化既影響着世界上的農業,也影響着世界上的水產業。

As air temperatures rise, oceans and waterways absorb some of the heat and undergo warming of their own. The result is a decline in fish population, including in lobsters (who are cold-blooded creatures), and salmon (whose eggs find it hard to survive in higher water temps). Warmer waters also encourage toxic marine bacteria, like Vibrio, to grow and cause illness in humans whenever ingested with raw seafood, like oysters or sashimi.

隨着氣溫上升,海洋和水道吸收了一部分熱量,造成水體升溫。結果造成魚類數量減少,包括龍蝦(冷血動物)和三文魚(魚卵難以在較高水溫中存活)。溫度更高的海水會催生弧菌等有毒的海洋細菌,致使攝入生牡蠣或生魚片等生海鮮的人生病。

And that satisfying "crack" you get when eating crab and lobster? It could be silenced as shellfish struggle to build their calcium carbonate shells, a result of ocean acidification (absorb carbon dioxide from the air).

而你在咬碎螃蟹或龍蝦的殼時將不再聽到令人滿足的噼啪聲,因爲甲殼類水生動物由於海洋酸化(吸收空氣中的二氧化碳的結果)將難以長出堅硬的碳酸鈣殼。

Even worse is the possibility of no longer eating seafood at all, which according to a 2006 Dalhousie University study, is a possibility. In this study, scientists predicted that if over-fishing and rising temperature trends continued at their present rate, the world's seafood stocks would run out by the year 2050.

更糟的結果是再也吃不到海鮮。根據2006年達爾豪斯大學的一項研究,這是有可能的。在這項研究中,科學家預言,如果過度捕撈魚類和氣溫升高的趨勢以目前的速度持續下去,世界上的海鮮存貨將會在2050年前耗光。

6 Rice 米飯

When it comes to rice, our changing climate is more of a threat to the growing method than to the grains themselves.

相對於大米本身,氣候變化對於大米耕種方法的威脅更大。

Rice farming is done in flooded fields (called paddies), but as increased global temperatures bring more frequent and more intense droughts, the world's rice-growing regions may not have enough water to flood fields to the proper level (usually 5 inches deep). This could make the cultivating this nutritious staple crop more difficult.

大米種植是在水田中進行的,但隨着全球氣溫的升高,乾旱天氣更頻繁也更嚴重,世界上的大米種植區可能沒有足夠的水讓田中的水保持合適的高度(大約5英寸)。這會讓種植大米變得更難。

7 Wheat 小麥

A recent study involving Kansas State University researchers finds that in the coming decades, at least one-quarter of the world's wheat production will be lost to extreme weather and water stress if no adaptive measures are taken.

堪薩斯州立大學的研究人員近日的一項研究發現,如果不採取對策,未來幾十年將因爲極端天氣和水資源缺乏而令全球小麥減產四分之一。

Researchers found that the effects from climate change and its increasing temperatures on wheat will be more severe than once projected and are happening sooner than expected. While increases in the average temperature are problematic, a bigger challenge is the extreme temperatures that are resulting from climate change. Researchers also found that increasing temperatures are shortening the time frame that wheat plants have to mature and produce full heads for harvest, resulting in less grain produced from each plant.

研究人員發現,氣候變化和氣溫升高對小麥的影響比原先預計的更嚴重,比預期的來得更早。平均氣溫升高固然很成問題,但更大的挑戰是氣候變化引起的極端氣溫。研究人員還發現,氣溫升高縮短了小麥植株成熟的時間,令穗子個頭增大,從而導致每株小麥所收穫的糧食減少。

According to a study released by the Postdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, corn and soybean plants can lose 5% of their harvest for every day temperatures climb above 86 °F (30 °C). (Corn plants are especially sensitive to heat waves and drought). At this rate, future harvests of wheat, soybeans, and corn could drop by up to 50 percent.

根據德國波茨坦氣候影響研究所的一項研究,如果日常氣溫攀升到30攝氏度以上,玉米和大豆莊稼將減產5%。玉米植株對熱浪和乾旱尤其敏感。如果氣溫以這一速度持續升高,小麥、大豆和玉米未來的收成會減少50%。

8 Orchard Fruits 果園的水果

Peaches and cherries, two favorite stone fruits of the summer season, may in fact suffer at the hands of too much heat.

過熱的天氣可能會讓夏季最受喜愛的兩種核果——桃子和櫻桃減產。

According to David Lobell, deputy director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment at Stanford University, fruit trees (including cherry, plum, pear, and apricot) require "chilling hours"— a period of time when they're exposed to temperatures below 45° F (7° C) each winter. Skip the required cold, and fruit and nut trees struggle to break dormancy and flower in the spring. Ultimately, this means a drop in the amount and quality of fruit that's produced.

斯坦福大學食品安全和環境中心副主任戴維·羅貝爾稱,水果樹(包括櫻桃、李子、梨和杏)需要“冷凍期”——每年冬天氣溫低於7攝氏度的一段時間。如果沒有這段冷凍期,核果樹將無力打破冬眠期,在春天綻放花朵,最終將會導致果實減產,品質下降。

By the year 2030, scientists estimate the number of 45°F or colder days during winter will have lessened significantly.

到2030年,科學家估計冬天氣溫低於7攝氏度的日子將會明顯減少。

9 Maple Syrup 楓糖漿

Rising temperatures in the Northeast US and Canada have negatively impacted sugar maple trees, including dulling the trees' fall foliage and stressing the tree to the point of decline. But while the total retreat of sugar maples out of the US may still be several decades away, climate is already wreaking havoc on its most prized products — maple syrup — today.

美國東北部和加拿大上升的氣溫已經對楓樹造成了負面影響,包括讓楓葉顏色變淺,讓楓樹在壓力下凋零。雖然距離糖楓從美國完全消失也許還有數十年時間,但如今氣候變化已經讓寶貴的楓糖漿嚴重受損。

For one, warmer winters and yo-yo winters (periods of cold sprinkled with periods of unseasonable warmth) in the Northeast have shortened the "sugaring season" — the period when temperatures are mild enough to coax trees to turn stored-up starches into sugar sap, but not warm enough to trigger budding. (When trees bud, sap is said to become less palatable).

首先,美國東北部的暖冬和乍暖乍寒的天氣縮短了楓樹的“化糖期”——在天氣不冷不熱而氣溫又不會暖到催動楓樹萌芽時,楓樹會將儲存的澱粉轉化爲糖漿。據說當楓樹萌芽時,楓糖漿就不會那麼美味了。

Too-hot temperatures have also lessened the maple sap's sweetness. "What we found was that after years when trees produced a lot of seeds, there was less sugar in the sap," says Tufts University ecologist Elizabeth Crone. Crone explains that when trees are more stressed out, they drop more seeds. "They'll invest more of their resources in producing seeds that can hopefully go somewhere else where the environmental conditions are better." This means it takes more gallons of sap to make a pure gallon of maple syrup with the required 70% sugar content. Twice as many gallons, to be exact.

天氣太熱還會降低楓糖漿的甜度。塔夫茨大學的生態學家伊麗莎白·克龍說:“我們發現,在楓樹大量產籽數年後,汁液中的糖分會減少。”克龍解釋說,當楓樹感受到氣候變化的壓力後,它們會產生更多的籽。“楓樹會將更多資源用於產籽,希望這些籽能夠到環境條件更有利的地方去生長。”這意味着要製出一加侖含糖量達70%的純楓糖漿,將需要更多的楓樹汁液。準確來說,需要原來的兩倍的楓樹汁液才能製出來。

10 Peanuts 花生

Peanuts (and peanut butter) may be one of the simplest of snacks, but the peanut plant is considered to be fairly fussy, even among farmers.

花生或花生醬也許是最簡單的一種小吃,但花生植株卻是比較難伺候的,即使在農民看來也是如此。

Peanut plants grow best when they get five months of consistently warm weather and 20-40 inches of rain. Anything less and plants won't survive, much less produce pods. That isn't good news when you consider most climate models agree the climate of the future will be one of extremes, including droughts and heatwaves.

當溫暖天氣持續五個月並且降雨量達20到40英寸(51釐米到102釐米)時,花生植株長得最好。如果天氣達不到要求,花生植株將難以存活,能結出果實的更是少之又少。考慮到多數氣候模型一致得出的結論是未來的氣候條件會變得極端,要麼乾旱要麼熱浪,對花生而言還真不是好消息。

In 2011, the world caught a glimpse of the peanut's future fate when drought conditions across the peanut-growing Southeastern US led many plants to wither and die from heat stress. According to cnn Money, the dry spell caused peanut prices to rise by as much as 40 percent!

2011年世界瞥見了花生未來的命運,當時乾旱席捲了美國東南部的花生種植區,許多花生植株都枯萎並死於熱浪。根據cnn財經頻道的報道,這次乾旱導致花生的價格上漲了40%之多!

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