The life conditions on our Earth constantly change. And this is the reason for many animal and herb species’ extinction. It is sad that in a couple of years there won’t be some animals walking the Earth, but what about the usual products we are used to consume every day?
Bananas
Reason: fungal diseases of trees
An international team of scientists working in the Netherlands, Australia and the United States, found that the “Cavendish” sort of bananas, the most popular and familiar to us, is threatened with extinction within a few decades.
The matter is that the fungus, called “Tropical race – 4» (tropical race 4, TR4), is hitting the banana roots. This has already once happened in the first half of the XX century to a brand of bananas “Gros Michel”.
Now TR4 has spread to Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, penetrated Africa and Australia.
Wine
Reason: global warming
Within 20-25 years, the oldest French, Argentinean and Chilean vineyards can become unsuitable for cultivation of wine varieties. Blame global warming. Due to the high temperature the grapes will grow ripe quickly and will not have enough time to acquire those gustatory qualities that good wine needs. The researchers suggest that the wine business will be reduced by 70-80%, which would entail an increase in wine prices.
Honey
Reason: syndrome of bee colonies destruction
Scientists have noticed that the population of the most common and useful species of bees is sharply reduced. This phenomenon is called “syndrome of bee colonies destruction”, just at a time when the bees leave the hive and never return. Its nature remains unclear, perhaps, all the fault of pathogens or mite Varroa.
If the problem is not solved, then in 20 years honeybees will disappear altogether. This will affect the functioning of the entire biosphere, as many plants need bees for pollination.
Coffee
Reason: fungal diseases of trees
Researchers from the Australian Climate Institute concluded that by 2050 the number of agricultural parcels, where the coffee trees grow, will be reduced by 2 times. But by 2080, these plants will disappear completely from the face of the Earth.
The reason again is global warming: with the temperature growth plantations are increasingly affected by fungal diseases. Only in 2012, because of them, some manufacturers in Guatemala lost 85% of the crop. If this continues, their taste habits will have to change to millions of coffee lovers: this beverage is consumed daily in the amount of 2.25 billion cups in the world, with consumption growing by 5% annually.
Sea fish
Reason: fishing in huge volumes
Environmentalists have concluded that by 2050 the world may face the problem of the complete extermination of fish. At the moment, the amount of fishing is by 50-60% higher than the permissible limits. It is to be hoped that the appropriate fishing industry reforms will be taken,as this is the only way the ocean fish can be salvaged.
Chocolate
Reason: diseases and aging trees, drought
It is likely that in about 50 years the Earth will be without chocolate or it will be terribly expensive. Cocoa shortage is explained by several reasons.
The first is the cocoa tree disease that has wiped out almost 1/3 of the world’s cocoa crop. The second is the drought in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, which accounts for 70% of the world cocoa production.
The third reason is aging cocoa trees. These trees should be planted on a regular basis for uninterrupted production, which is not always feasible. Meanwhile, the demand for chocolate continues to grow.
Mussels
Reason: global warming
According to data obtained by modeling the climate change, the seawater temperature now increases in all regions of the planet. And due to the dilution of the world ocean waters salt concentration in the surface layer of seawater decreases. These changes will have a negative impact on the marine microorganisms – bacteria and plankton, which in turn will affect the species standing at the next level of the food chain, that is, mussels and other filter feeders.
Avocado
Reason: draught
Growing avocado is becoming more difficult and expensive. The growth of 1 kg of this fruit, requires an incredible amount of water (about 272 liters). In California, which supplies most of the US with avocado, there was a severe drought in recent years. If the climate will continue to change, the same fate will happen to other regions and countries that are major exporters of avocados.
Beer
Reason: the change of the chemical composition of hops
Though beer is far from its complete extinction, scientists and brewers around the world are concerned about the fact that soon it will change its familiar taste. Due to the temperature growth the contents of alpha acids in hops is reduced. They are responsible for the taste of the beverage. The solution for this situation may be the cultivation of new hop varieties with a high content of alpha-acids.
Maple syrup
Reason: short winters
Maple syrup is not a familiar product for all inhabitants of the Earth, though many have just heard of it. And there is a big probability that it will become a thing of the past.
To produce enough juice, maple needs long winters. It turned out that winter in the US and Canada are getting shorter every year, which can jeopardize the production of syrup.
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