Our Changing Menu - Ingredient Database

(Under Ongoing Development)

Mussel

US (West Coast)

Mussels are at increasing risk from ocean acidification and increasing water temperatures.[1] An extreme example of the impact of how higher water temperatures impact mussels occurred along the Pacific Coast in 2019. Because of higher water temperatures mussels populations lost their ability to form strong anchor points, making them more susceptible to being dislodged by waves and dying.[2]

References:

[1] Susan C. Fitzer et al., “Ocean Acidification and Temperature Increase Impact Mussel Shell Shape and Thickness: Problematic for Protection?,” Ecology and Evolution 5, no. 21 (November 2015): 4875–84, https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1756.

[2] “Mussels Cooked To Death In Their Shells In Unusual Heat On Northern California Shore | HuffPost,” accessed March 16, 2021, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mussels-cooked-in-california-heat-bodega-climate-change_n_5d19669ae4b082e5536b7195.

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.