Peanut Butter May Become a Thing of the Past Thanks to Climate Change
We love peanut butter around here. Packed with protein, tasty and easy to eat with almost everything, it’s a trusty snack on the go and the heart and soul of some amazing desserts (holla, peanut butter-bacon pop tarts!). But what would happen if we didn’t have peanut butter anymore? How could we make it through the day without the tasty, gooey treat? These questions aren’t so rhetorical anymore — new research shows that peanuts may become extinct if climate change keeps going the way it has.
According to The Huffington Post, climate change is making it harder for our little legume friend the peanut to survive. Grown mostly in the Southern US, drought and extreme heat seem to be the main culprits, since peanuts thrive in moderate landscapes, but too much rain and colder temps can also wreak havoc on our favorite spread. Peanuts in all forms are the number-one snack in the US, which means we’ll have to figure out a climate change solution if we want to keep our snack game high.
While we have around 15 years before the 2030 extinction date proposed by scientists, they’re already looking at ways to save the beloved food. Drought-resistant varieties, new farming methods and better climate protection can all play a part in making sure that we get to keep the classic PB&J sandwich around forever.
What’s your favorite way to eat peanut butter? Tell us @BritandCo!
(h/t Spoonuniversity.com, Photo via Getty)