Rising food prices: more pollution means less food

Recently, we’ve been witnessing a long series of rises in food price that have affected nearly every sector — from cocoa to sugar, from milk to eggs — leaving many consumers in serious difficulty. People are no longer able to shop with peace of mind, and the quality of the food they can afford has dropped dramatically.

These rising food prices are hitting the poorest segments of Western populations, but not only them. They are also depleting the planet and its natural resources — the very resources that allow us to feed ourselves and live with dignity in a clean and welcoming world.

Now, however, the planet’s resources are running out, mainly due to unwise behaviour in the past, and it has become clear that food inflation is just the tip of the iceberg, concealing much deeper-rooted and more entrenched environmental and social problems.

Increased food prices mean more pollution and less food. It means a life of hunger and famine. It means that the most vulnerable people are increasingly pushed to the margins of society, left with food filled only with empty calories — food that doesn’t nourish and ultimately harms their health.

There are people who, before the price hikes, were able to buy decent, healthy food that provided proper nutritional value. Now they are struggling, forced to fall back on poor-quality products, that are bad for the body and the environment because the are full of harmful chemicals.

These increases always hit the most fragile members of the population, the very people who should be protected and supported because they are no longer able to afford indispensable goods.

Among all the products affected by inflation, "coffee is the most striking example: espresso and cappuccino prices at cafés have reached unprecedented highs. The cost of raw materials has tripled in just two years (robusta up 83%, arabica up 48%) due to drought and climate change that have affected producing countries such as Brazil and Vietnam".

Cocoa is also a major concern, which "in 2024 reached a record high of €5,500 per ton, doubling its price. The main causes are a drop in supply (down 180,000 tons in Ghana) caused by extreme weather and the cocoa virus, worsened by outdated farming techniques and lack of investment".

It is followed by "butter, which has reached unprecedented price levels, over €8 per kilo — a 50% increase in 2024 compared to the previous year. Here, too, climate change plays an important role, affecting cattle farming with heat stress that reduces both milk production and quality. And these are only three of the products that have seen the steepest increases. 

For the first time, it is really evident that climate change — with extreme events, sudden heat waves or cold snaps, floods and droughts — combined with poor management of our planet’s resources, is ruining not only food but also people's health.

Climate change has also strongly affected agriculture, and this of course also applies to all other countries. This has reached a point where natural resources are becoming scarce and many products cost more and more, exacerbating economic and social imbalances. Destroying traditional, sustainable and environmentally conscious agriculture, replacing small farms with large intensive ones where animals suffer and have no rights is a serious detriment to the planet and to ourselves.

Even essentials like bottled water and eggs have seen sharp price increases. These are fundamental products for our everyday lives. How often do we drink water from a bottle? How often do we use eggs in our meals — even as ingredients? Then it is easy to understand how these price rise can weigh on household budgets, creating deeper inequality and poverty.

In conclusion, it can be said that these rising prices are one of the many consequences of climate change, those same changes that create extreme events, droughts, floods, and in this way radically decrease our food supply. More pollution means less and poorer quality food, and it is always the most fragile who pay the highest price.

Let us respect the planet. Let us return to sustainable agriculture and in this way we will also protect the poorest and neediest part of the population.

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