Our Changing Menu - Ingredient Database

(Under Ongoing Development)

Broccoli

United States, California

In the US, almost all broccoli is produced in California with an annual value of over $800 million.[1] Scientists predict that increasing CO2 levels and temperatures in concert with increased fertilization will likely increase yields in the future. [2] With warming, more production will occur in winter months, which are now too cold and will shift away from the warmer months of the year. [3] In coming years, broccoli production is expected to face increasing risk from heat waves, floods, and decreased water quality and quantity. [4]

References:

[1] “Broccoli: Fresh and Processing Market Production Value 2020,” Statista, accessed July 29, 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1030612/us-market-broccoli-production-value/.

[2] Sumin Kim et al., “A Hybrid Decision Tool for Optimizing Broccoli Production in a Changing Climate,” Horticulture Environment and Biotechnology, n.d., https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-020-00317-8.

[3] Alison Marklein et al., “Projected Temperature Increases May Require Shifts in the Growing Season of Cool-Season Crops and the Growing Locations of Warm-Season Crops,” Science of the Total Environment 746 (December 1, 2020): 140918, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140918.

[4] Emile Elias et al., “Southwest Regional Climate Hub and California Subsidiary Hub Assessment of Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies” (United States. Department of Agriculture, August 2015), https://doi.org/10.32747/2015.6879806.ch.

Our foods and food ingredients: They're all changing.

Yields of major staple crops like wheat and rice are being hurt by increasing temperatures. Wine grape production is moving to cooler climes causing changes in the character of some of our favorites. The flavors and health benefits of teas, the size of potatoes, the sting of a hot pepper, where fish call home in the oceans, and a future decline in protein in vegetables—it’s all changing.

Our food database shows the ingredients affected by a changing climate.

To learn what farmers, scientists, and many others are doing to keep the menu stocked, see Stewardship of the Land and Our Changing Menu: Climate Change and the Foods We Love and Need. You have a role, too!

Using our database:

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Construction in progress...

This food ingredient database is in its early phase and we will strive to expand it on an ongoing basis so that everyone is aware of how climate change is affecting the foods we love and need.