Media Claims Global Crops Shrinking As Harvests Set Records
Among its top search results today for “climate change,” Google News is promoting a story published by Courthouse News Service claiming climate change has caused a dramatic decline in farm productivity. However, data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show that crop production and yields are consistently growing and setting new records almost every year.
Modestly warming temperatures and increased carbon dioxide concentrations have stimulated a greening of the earth that has enormously benefited agriculture.
The Courthouse News Service story, titled “Climate Change Putting a Damper on Global Food Production,” cites research produced using dubious computer models to speculate how much food would have been produced absent increased carbon dioxide levels and modestly warmer temperatures over the past half-century.
Courthouse News Service should have looked at some actual data.
“Despite continuous technological advancements, global farming productivity has dropped an average of 21% since 1961 because of climate change,” writes Courthouse News Service, summarizing the results of the computer model simulations. “That’s like losing seven years of productivity gains in the last 60 years.”
In particular, the researchers claim climate change has hit warmer regions particularly hard, reducing agricultural productivity in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East between 26 and 34 percent.
Data from the FAO show this is false, globally and for most crops in most countries. Yields of the most important cereal crops have increased dramatically over the past few decades, repeatedly setting new records.
As shown in the chart below, the FAO’s recent “Cereal Supply and Demand Brief” reports new global records are being set nearly every year for the production of cereal crops (corn, wheat, rice, and similar crop staples) that comprise most of the global food consumption.
Courthouse News Service tried to downplay FAO’s data by falsely asserting, “Previous studies … are of limited value in assessing worldwide agricultural productivity as cereal crops only account for around 20% of global food production.”
The “Big Three” cereal crops, corn, rice, and wheat, by themselves, comprise 66 percent of global human food consumption. Indeed, cereal crops alone make up nine of the 15 crops that provide 90 percent of humanity’s food energy intake.
Other crops have also benefited from longer growing seasons, fewer late-season frost events, and the carbon dioxide fertilization effect.
Data presented in The Heartland Institute report, “The Social Benefits of Fossil Fuels,” demonstrate the “increase in atmospheric [carbon dioxide] concentration … caused by the historical burning of fossil fuels has likely increased agricultural production per unit [of] land area by 70 percent for C3 cereals [which include rice, wheat, oats, cotton, and evergreen trees], 28 percent for C4 cereals [which include sorghum, maize, and various grasses], 33 percent for fruits and melons, 62 percent for legumes, 67 percent for root and tuber crops, and 51 percent for vegetables.”
Also, contrary to the claims made in the Courthouse News Service article, the increase in food production has been widespread, with crop production increasing in developed countries and developing countries alike, and in temperate and warmer regions alike.
Previous Climate Realism posts show agricultural productivity has increased dramatically, for example, in Africa, here, here, and here; in the Middle East, here and here; in Latin America, here, here, and here; in Asia, here, here, and here, and in North America, here, here, here, here, and here.
This increase in food production has occurred even as the number of people and the amount of land devoted to growing crops has declined. Fewer people, farming less land and producing higher yields reflect increasing rather than declining productivity.
Rather than uncritically parroting one group of researchers’ flawed claims concerning falling crop yields, Courthouse News Service should have done a little independent fact-checking.
Had it done so, it could easily have found the truth that farm productivity has increased during the recent period of modest warming.
This good news would have served its readers’ interests better than the falsehoods it published about declining farm productivity.
See more here: climatechangedispatch.com
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Barry
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As the world is now cooling due to the grand solar min the greenies are getting desperate. They are now having to resort to total falsehoods to promote their rediculous lies.
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itsme
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they’ll still starve us to death when the time comes, using global whatever.
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Karma Singh
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Thanks for this John.
I knew, of course, that global greening is absorbing more CO2 than mankind produces, so it’s good that the cows keep farting as well or our coco pops could disappear from Tesco’s shelves.
When you look at the actual figures here above, you can understand why the Mediaeval Warm Period was a time of such great prosperity – easier farming not only released manpower for other projects but also ensured adequate nutrition for those in the towns.
Historians will note that this reversed in the early 1300’s resulting in mass under-nutrition which caused the Black Death (currently called Ebola) from 1347-51. This “Little Ice Age” came to a slow end in the late 1800’s and our planet has gradually been warming (and become more productive) since. We have, however, not yet reached the mean average temperature for the last 15,000 years!
What must also be taken into account is that cold periods lead to more sickness as greater volumes are nutrients are required just to maintain temperature: When cold causes food production to fall, this is always accompanied by an increase in sickness as we saw, for example, when the Roman Warm Period ended causing the collapse of the Empire and, then again, from 1300 to the early 20th century.
All these things are related and computer models are useless because they’re not given all of the data, just those that whoever is trying to “prove” a point selects.
Blessed be
Karma Singh
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Karma Singh
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Please don’t bother telling me that cows fart methane, rather than CO2. I just put it in there to introduce a little levity into the discussion.
Blessed be
Karma Singh
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Mark Tapley
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Most increased agricultural production is due to the increased application of commercial fertilizer which has more than doubled since 1950. Improved mechanization and technology is also a factor. Beef Cattle are almost exclusively run on poorer land that is of marginal use for crops anyway. They are ruminants and therefore efficient foragers that use their four stomachs to process cellulose and other roughage very efficiently. On the other hand, breeds that produce milk require lots of feed.
There is a lot of criticism of factory farming but the truth is that if 1% of the population is going to grow food for the other 99% it has to be done this way. My grand parents in rural Arkansas raised and slaughtered and processed their own animals, and kept a smoke house. They raised chickens of course and had mules for plowing. Few people today have enough arable land with adequate rainfall, or the time and skills to do all of this. Most people now only know how to push a cart down the supermarket isle while wearing their face diaper.
Approximately 70% of most peoples diet consists of carbohydrates pushed by the big food co’s and our puppet politicians as “healthy whole grains.” Much of this crap is not even digestible by humans. The quality of the diet is determined by the quality and amount of protein, not fruits and grains (the diet of the poor and malnourished). Look at the recipes of the best restaurants of the past and the diets of early Americans. The focus was on. meat and butter (saturated fat). This was before the epidemic of heart disease, cancer and all the other metabolic syndromes became the norm including the epidemic of type 2 diabetes which in the early 1900’s was like heart disease almost unknown.
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Jerry Krause
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Hi Mark,
Your first two paragraphs were GREAT. Then you fell out of the cart.
Have a great day, Jerry
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Mark Tapley
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Hello Jerry:
Please elaborate. You are not trying to follow Michelle’s whole grain diet are you? They all want us dead you know. Note also that famous vegetarian physician Dr. Mc Dougal has broken his hip. He even had to finally recommend his followers supplement their yucky potato diet with B12 that as you know comes only from animal sources. Too little to late I guess.
best regards,
Mark
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Jerry Krause
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Hi Mark,
I didn’t question: “On the other hand, breeds that produce milk require lots of feed.” Now, you need to elaborate about what was your point for this statement. This cows have four stomaches and digest cellulose, which humans cannot, and convert it into a high protein food which humans can digest and need for good nutrition.
And you concluded the second paragraph: “Most people now only know how to push a cart down the supermarket isle while wearing their face diaper.” You need to elaborate why, or how, these people, who push carts, do not have the freedom to buy which only they are deciding to purchase at the grocery store. Are you claiming the grocery stores do not have any nutritious foods to purchase?? Like whole milk, fresh fruits or vegetables. And I bet your grandparents canned vegetables and fruits they grew. These are available in most grocery stores as well as frozen vegetables and freeze dried fruits and actually ‘fresh vegetable and fresh fruits in the produce department.
People are wearing masks because the government orders them to do this. Do you promote a government which should order you what to eat???
Have a good day, Jerry
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Mark Tapley
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Hi Jerry:
I was just trying to type out a quick synopsis relating to agriculture since ap. 80% of people in the U.S. are in urban areas and get a lot of erroneous information. The point with the different breeds is that they have to be managed very differently. Dairy cows require lots of feed to produce a lot of milk, but beef cattle can forage around a lot of the time depending of course on cows per acre and pasture quality at the time etc. I brought this out because many people think that cattle are wasteful when the truth is they take junk that we cannot utilize and convert it into dense high nutrient packages.
My point with the supermarkets is that long ago, say at the time I was referring to during depression era Arkansas most of the people were rural and had to have a fairly high level of self sufficiency. They had no electricity, running water, or gas. There was no plumbing, no insulation and no welfare. More white privilege. People today are not acclimated to this type of circumstance and would no doubt find it very difficult. As you mention they did can a lot (and hunted deer and fished-trot lined) to help get through the winter. In the area where I live the grocery store does not require masks (never did) and so I did not think of that aspect of the illegal mandates. Also I rarely go to the store but instead let the wife do the necessary shopping.
As you know from my previous comments I find it amazing that most people have become little more than docile barnyard animals on the global plantation and are being driven down the socialist path one manufactured crisis at a time until ultimately the entire herd will be penned up in the long planned Agenda 2030-021 corral. This fake virus fraud that can now be stopped just by the people’s refusal to comply with this attack on our natural rights will continue to get worse unless the people take action. The worst part about this is that it only takes a small effort learn the truth or just use a little common sense. There is nothing different now than before, other than a new Zionist lie.
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Jerry Krause
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Hi Mark,
I concluded my comment with a question which I would prefer to be answered with a simple yes or no.
Instead, I only got a bunch of words that ended with: “There is nothing different now than before, other than a new Zionist lie.”
Have a good day, Jerry
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Mark Tapley
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Hello Jerry:
How was I to know what you prefer? I generally put little value in yes or no answers. Besides you requested twice that I elaborate.
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Karma Singh
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A little learning is a dangerous thing, Mark!
Amongst many other things that you “forgot” to mention is that life expectancy in 1900 was only slightly more than half of that today.
I cannot, for the life of me, see the connection between a broken hip and proof that vegetarianism is a bad thing. Having now been a vegetarian for much more than half a century, I still haven’t broken my hip (nor do I have the joint deterioration that most meat and dairy consumers have at my age).
It was tradition, stubbornness and ignorance which lead to cattle rearing; not science. Chemical fertilisers have caused a massive reduction in nutrient value with illusory harvest increases – produce is just inflamed with toxins and contains often 30% more water then healthy, i.e. organically grown, produce. These self-same chemical fertilisers have, further, so poisoned the land that the lack of essential microbes is causing infertility and conscious farmers have returned to organic farming to regenerate the land under their care.
Cow’s milk is poisonous to humans. If it is pasteurised, it is even poisonous to calves and will kill them within days. Cow dairy is the largest single cause of ill-health throughout the First World.
Humans not only do not have the digestive juices to make effective use of meat, their very long, grain digesting intestines, are much too long to discharge the toxic residues before they do great damage. Carnivores have much shorter intestines so that they can discharge the residues before they putrefy; we cannot!
Vitamin B is, basically, bacteria shit. A healthy gut flora produces more than enough. In case of shortage, just lick the sole of your shoe – you don’t need to kill a cow and wait for the meat to begin to putrefy to get it!
Blessed be
Karma Singh
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