Miller Magazine Issue 109 / January 2019

58 COVER STORY MILLER / JANUARY 2019 affected by the melting of glaciers. Theoretically, C3 plants such as wheat, rice and po- tatoes are expected to grow faster due to the increased CO2 content in the atmosphere, which has not been observed enough in the field. Moreover, loss of protein and nutrient content is frequently observed in plants raised under temperature stress. Additionally, some micronutrients, such as iron and zinc, will also accumu- late less and be less in the produced food. When we examine all these effects together, it is estimated that protein deficiency will affect an additional 150 million people by 2050. Factors affecting food safety projections include the changes in regional climate projections, studies to reduce climate change, biological reactions expected from agri- cultural products, extreme weather conditions (drought, flood), financial fluctuation and changes in the distribu- tion of insects and illnesses. Changes in temperature and precipitation are expected to increase global food prices by 3-84 percent by 2050. The impact of climate change on food prices should be considered together with chan- ges in land use, energy policies and food trade. In parti- cular, the use of agricultural land for energy production and the development of this as a policy tool can further increase problems. Although states focused on limiting the warming by 1.5 and 2 degrees, efforts so far shown by states since the Paris Conference indicated that they did not grasp the significance of the issue. Even if states realize the promises they have given, it is estimated that global warming would not be less than 3 degrees. Considering that the countries like the United States announced they would not adhere to their commitments, it is clear that global warming will be more than 3 degrees. The studies conducted so far show that yield of all grains, especially wheat and maize, are falling after the 2-degree-threshold is exceeded. It has been reported that the temperature increase in tropics causes a half- ton reduction of yield per hectare in maize farming. Similar studies have shown that the yield decreases by 6.0 % for wheat, 3.2 % for rice, 7.4 % for maize, and 3.1 % for soybean for every degree of temperature inc- rease. Turkey is located in the Mediterranean basin, which is expected to be the most affected region by climate chan- ge. The temperature increase observed in the Mediterra- nean basin is 50 percent higher than the global average. That is, in case no precaution is taken if the world avera- ge will increase by 3 degrees by the end of the century, this increase will be at least 4.5 degrees in our country. The temperature increase will reduce the precipitation by 20-30 percent while the effect of this decrease will be more severe if the precipitation turns into a downpour. Thus, when considering the yield decrease given for the world, we should expect that the yield decrease will be 27 percent in wheat, 14.4 percent in rice, 33.3 percent in maize and 14 percent in soybean by the end of the century. Climate change is expected to have extremely striking results, especially in the region where we live. We hope that states will understand the seriousness of the situati- on, take necessary measures, and keep people away from the negative results. However, we should plan for the worst scenario considering all possibilities.