Soon, There May Not be Enough Tomatoes for Our Favorite Dishes due to Climate Change

Some good things never last. Even for a paradisiacal place like California, the source of plump, juicy tomatoes that make our pizzas and pasta extra yummy.

“California is pretty unique in terms of its climate,” said Tapan Pathak, an agriculture and climate expert at the University of California, Davis. “Pretty perfect environment for tomatoes to grow.” And that is due to the region’s sunny, long summers with hardly any rain.

At the beginning of the 20th century, California with its perfect climate, fertile soil, and abundant supply of water welcomed the tomato industry which quickly thrived.

Tomato-based dishes became more mouth-watering as the region supplied 90% of the country’s canning tomatoes. According to the state, tomato is California’s second most prized agricultural produce.

But the prestige and supply begin to diminish as climate change causes California to suffer drought — a megadrought, according to experts.

Water has become scarce.

Tomato plants are wilting and dying.

The megadrought started in 2000, with short intervals of unprecedented wetness — the worst climate condition in the last 1,200 years. And it has been aggravated by climate change by raising California’s summer temperature way beyond the endurance of most tomato plantations.

And there is no sign that the climate and water crises will soon be over. In fact, tomato growers feel the situation is going worse.

Tony Montagnaro who is a co-operator of a small restaurant in Ojai, California whose prime offers are pizza and California-sourced ingredients cannot help becoming anxious too. “Great tomatoes are just a staple food. Maybe pizza is running the risk of becoming a seasonal food, if there aren’t enough tomatoes in the future.”

Soon, consumers may feel the way too and there are no more extra yummy pizza and pasta to comfort them.

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