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Autumn contains many gloriously invigorating qualities. The leaves display their brilliance and the breeze is cool, a hint of winter spicing the air.

This change in seasons also calls to mind a change in global climate and the resulting long-term effects. This summer’s prolonged dry season greatly influenced crop price increases. Fortunately, the index of global food prices remained relatively unchanged in August compared with July, representing a period of stability (although prices continue to remain high compared with historical standards.)

According to information The New York Times gathered, there have been two significant spikes in global food prices driven by drastic weather in the past five years. Extreme weather, such as drought or torrential rain, while naturally part of the agricultural cycle, is only expected to increase as the global warming trend continues. Additionally, the effects of certain agriculture practices only add to the general climate shift. Agriculture can cause extensive deforestation in the tropics, and it consumes fossil fuels, releasing powerful greenhouse gases, including nitrous oxide, into the atmosphere.

This past season has set the stage for a potential third global food price spike, begging the question, “What can be done to prevent a future crop crisis?” particularly for developing countries that are hit especially hard, considering as much as 75 percent of their income is spent on staple grains for food.

Fortunately, there are ways to mitigate the issues of food security and environmental protection.

According to research conducted by the University of Minnesota, the best way to ensure food security while protecting the environment is for farmers to close the “yield gap.” The yield gap is due to farmers’ tendencies to produce less of a crop than they could in a given region. Closing this gap could increase the world’s most important crops (wheat, corn and rice) from 45 to 70 percent. Tactics for reducing the yield gap would be to decrease the amount of nitrogen fertilizer used and the amount of water wasted, while implementing more efficient farming methods in areas where farm yields are below the potential.

According to this research, resourcefulness and efficiency are key in both environmental protection and large-scale, global food crisis prevention. Employing these tactics will make the glorious change of seasons that much more enjoyable, knowing food resources will be plentiful during the winter season.

For more information, view this Oxfam webpage as well as this study published in the Nature journal.

(Image from North American Whitetail website)