@FAOCLIMATE: climate change a huge risk to food supply

@FAOCLIMATE

RT @alertnetclimate: Slow-onset climate change a huge risk to food supply - #FAO study http://bit.ly/ebXb3l #climate #food #farming #drought

A Somali refugee woman walks past makeshift shelters in Dadaab, near the Kenya-Somalia border, on April 3, 2011. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

LONDON (AlertNet) - Failure to prepare for the impact of slow-onset climate changes could have catastrophic effects on food production, according to a new study by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

"Currently the world is focused on dealing with shorter-term climate impacts caused mainly by extreme weather events," said Alexander Muller, FAO’s assistant director-general for natural resources. “This is absolutely necessary.”

But more gradual climate impacts – such as the emergence of prolonged droughts – could create much bigger challenges by fundamentally altering ecosystems and leading to long-term loss of productive land.

That could bring “potentially disastrous impacts on food security” starting in 2050 to 2100, he said.