Climate Change Almost Threatened the Fate of This Thanksgiving StapleAn exceptionally warm summer nearly triggered a shortage of this beloved Thanksgiving side.
Cranberries could have been missing at yourThanksgivingtable this year — and no, not due to supply chain issues or inflation.
This summer was exceptionally hot, with Earth experiencing its sixth-hottest August of all time,according tothe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
Rising temperatures continue to present threats to the planet, and the impact ofclimate changejeopardized the fate of cranberry crops as a drought and heatwave swept Massachusetts, where nearly a third of all cranberries in the U.S. are harvested.
When all goes as planned, cranberries are grown in flood fields with the help of fresh water — a system that faces issues when there's an exceptionally dry and hot season.
"The boom or bust scenario that climate change presents when it comes to precipitation events — the boom being the large precipitation event, the bust being long dry spells — that's not a good thing," Zachary Zobel, a scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Massachusetts,toldGrist in September. Zobel went on to say that the current situation is a direct result of climate change. Out of the 14 counties in Massachusetts, 10 had extreme droughts over the summer, theNew York Postreported.
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However, this wasn't the first time cranberryfarmershave dealt with the threat of low yields. Over the past few years farmers have faced several periods of less-than-fruitful harvests due to severe weather conditions that impact the fate of the fruit. In 2015 and 2017, cranberry farmers faced the opposite problem of this dry summer:洪水和风暴。
When there's too much water, cranberries are susceptible to a fungus that spoils the fruit. But without enough moisture, the berries don't grow at all. Thatextreme weather conditionsimpact the harvests is a testament to just how fragile the fruit is.
To further complicate the pending availability of fresh cranberries, only about three percent of the berries are sold fresh, according toModern Farmer.Cranberry farmers typically save a small portion of their harvest — usually the best in the batch — to be sold fresh, and the rest wind up in juices, cans or dried.
Despite the threatened shortage and obstacles brought about by extreme weather conditions, cranberry farmers managed to have a successful harvest in the end. Growers are reporting a solid, high-quality harvest, according to theCranberry Institute. "The fruit quality is expected to be very good for Thanksgiving 2022, with supplies of fruit available for the holiday market nationwide," the organization toldEntrepreneur.
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