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Shortages of Sriracha, Coffee, and Wine Due to Climate Change

Food shortages are on the rise.

person shopping for sriracha
Credit: Shutterstock/Simone Hogan (left) and Grossinger (right)

Across the world, companies are warning about upcoming shortages and increasing prices, from coffee to wine, to beloved Sriracha. Climate catastrophes like heat waves, droughts, and storms threaten global food production, including coffee, wheat, wine, mustard, and fruit.

After a severe drought in Mexico, Sriracha producer Huy Fong Foods reports a low inventory of red jalapeño chili peppers. Huy Fong Foods’ July 2020 chili pepper shortage warning worsened due to climate change’s increasing severity.

In a notice sent to Huy Fong Foods, Inc. clients, the company announced: “Currently, due to weather conditions affecting the quality of chili peppers, we now face a more severe shortage of chili.”

Credit: Shutterstock/ Cali Media

The company continued: “Unfortunately, this is out of our control and without this essential ingredient we are unable to produce any of our products (Chili Garlic, Sambal Oelek, and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce).”

Huy Fong Foods announced rescheduling all orders placed on or after April 19, 2022, due to the extreme shortage. All orders, they clarified, will be completed after September 6, 2022, or Labor Day. In short, with few exceptions, eaters across the country and the world may be facing a Sriracha-less summer.

crops being cut down with change of climate
Credit: Shutterstock/kv naushad

Other Markets Are Also facing Extreme Shortages

Southern California’s Huy Fong Foods is not the only food producer facing extreme shortages due to climate change. In mid-May, India announced a wheat export ban to protect their limited supply. Abandonment rates for winter wheat in the United States Oklahoma and Texas are record high following a drought, while flooding jeopardizes Montana’s grain. A NASA study conducted in November 2021 predicts a 24% decline in maize corn yields by 2030.

It doesn’t stop at grain and condiments. Last winter’s heavy frost drastically reduced Michigan and Wisconsin’s apple harvest. Apricot yield in France is the lowest in 40 years, with only about half the average fruit yield.

In 2021 and 2022, France announced a record low wine yield, with a 24-30% decline in wine production caused by climate change. Late-season frosts and summer mildew in Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone Valley, and Champagne led to a catastrophic year.

French Agriculture Minister Juliene Denormandie called the freezing spring “probably the greatest agricultural catastrophe since the beginning of the 21st century.” With approximately 80% of vineyards affected, the country estimated a $2 billion reduction in wine-related sales.

Credit: Shutterstock/Africa Studio

The Inflation of Produce Prices in the Future

Coffee prices have increased by 50-70% from 2020 due to supply shortages caused by combined drought and freezing conditions in Brazil. Experts predict drought in West Africa will soon hit cocoa crops, causing chocolate shortages in coming years.

Leading scientists estimate food yields will decrease, causing prices to skyrocket and global hunger rates to rise. Since 2016, the amount of people living in famine conditions has risen by 500%. Severe food insecurity now affects 276 million people, doubling the pre-pandemic count of 135 million.

In a statement from U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, he warned, “The climate emergency is another driver of global hunger. Over the past decade, 1.7 billion people have been affected by extreme weather and climate-related disasters.”

John Furlow, director of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) at Columbia Climate School, remarked, “We’re suffering in the US because we can’t get sriracha. The farmers who produce those peppers are not getting that income – that’s a little bit worse than having a bland sandwich.”

Interested in reading more about the latest in environmental and social developments? Click here to read about the FDA’s attempt to ban all Juul products.

Written By

Makenna Dykstra (she/her) is currently pursuing her M.A. in English Literature at Tulane University in New Orleans. She writes journalism and poetry.

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