British dishes including fish and chips and chicken tikka masala at risk as a result of climate change, report warns
Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
They’re some of the nation’s most-loved dishes, but it seems that meals including fish and chips and chicken tikka masala could be at risk as a result of climate change.
A new report by WWF has found that many favourites may taste different, need substitute ingredients and cost more in future, as climate change could threaten the supply of the key ingredient.
The report revealed that by 2050 chicken tikka masala could be transformed, as chickens will be fed on alternative feeds such as insects and algae.
Rice prices are also expected to rise by a third, while we could see onion shortages caused by an increase in diseases.
(Image: Getty)
Meanwhile, traditional cod could be replaced by anchovies in fish and chips, as warmer oceans cause smaller species to displace cod populations.
Cheese production is also likely to be affected due to heat stress on dairy herds and resulting impact on milk production, meaning cheese ploughman’s sandwiches could be a thing of the past.
The report also calculated the environmental costs of these dishes today.
(Image: WWF)
The cheese ploughman’s was found to create 2.6kg CO2 in greenhouse gas emissions to produce - the equivalent of charging a smartphone 316 times, boiling a kettle 113 times or keeping an LED lightbulb switched on for 28 whole days.
Gareth Redmond-King, Head of Energy and Climate at WWF commented: “The threat to these classic dishes just shows that climate change could impact every aspect of our lives in future if we don’t act now.
“That’s why this Earth Hour we want people to eat more sustainably. That doesn’t necessarily mean going vegan or vegetarian – it means each of us cutting back on the amount of fish, meat and dairy we eat.
“If each of us takes a small action, together we can combat climate change and future-proof our best-loved dishes.”