Fifteen years ago, entomologist Mike Hoffmann had an “ah-ha”moment about climate change when a friend gave him the book The Revenge of Gaia.
Hoffmann, who spent a significant part of his career in administrative leadership roles at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, began working on initiatives to address sustainability on campus and giving presentations on climate change. He noticed whenever he would mention climate changes’ effect on food, people would pay more attention.
There is data to back up Hoffmann’s assertion. Additionally-representative study of more than 1,000 adults in the U.S. conducted by Hoffmann and colleagues found 73% were very or fairly concerned that climate change would affect their food supply. The study found the topic of food cut across political lines; concern was high among both Democrats and Republicans,with 86 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of Republicans saying they were very or fairly concerned.
“When you’re talking about climate change, you have to makeit relevant to people’s lives,” he said. “It’s hard to find something more relevantthan food. We enjoy it several times a day, it’s part of our cultures, and mostof us have an emotional attachment to what we eat.”
That realization led him to write his own book about climate change, Our Changing Menu: Climate Change and the Food You Love and Eat, published by Cornell Press in 2021. It was co-authored by communications expert Carrie Koplinka-Loehr and chef-turned educator Danielle Eiseman. The book explains how the climate is challenging and affecting the foods we enjoy. An accompanying web site is full of more information and ideas for action.
“No one had ever taken this approach to climate change,”Hoffmann said. “It’s not a doom and gloom story – it just lays out the facts. And then it’s followed with what’s being done to address the problems.”
For example, warming temperatures could soon reduce coffee production; some scientists predict that the world’s coffee production area could be cut in half by 2050. Or take rice, which is typically grown in water-filled paddies. Due to water scarcity and increased temperatures, experts expect yields to drop by up to 50% in coming decades.
“The question is, what are farmers, scientists and businesses doing, and what we can all do to minimize the effects on our food supply?” Hoffmann said.
Hoffmann is now a professor emeritus, but he doesn’t consider himself retired. He plans to spend his remaining years doing everything he can to help slow down climate change.
“At my last physical, I asked my doctor, ‘How long will I live?’” he said. “Based on the median survival age for my generation, he told me 10 years. I think, ‘Holy cow, that’s not much time. I have a lot of work to do.’
“I get really frustrated when people my age don’t do anything about climate change,” he said. “Most of us have time to make a difference.”
For Hoffmann’s part, he’s still traveling the country giving talks about how climate change is affecting our food supply. He’s also helping to launch a new course at Cornell that will help students learn the power of addressing climate change through the topic of food. And he’s starting work ona documentary film related to Our Changing Menu, which will follow a chef as he travels the world to investigate how climate change is impacting important ingredients.
“Food is a great way to spread the word about climate change,”he said. “It’s so important to talk about climate change. When you talk about it, you’re telling others that you’re doing something, and that will inspire them to change.”