
Sicily's farmers are looking for innovative alternatives to traditional crops - ranit
https://www.dw.com/en/sicilys-farmers-go-tropical-in-the-face-of-climate-change/a-46775174
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beat
This story does suggest the logical response to the climate change Chicken
Littles who say we will no longer be able to grow crops. Sure we can, just
different crops.

Then again, apocalyptic belief systems generally have little to do with either
reasoning or positivity.

edit: Before you flame me, I fully believe in climate change - I'm not denying
anything here. I'm just saying humans can and will adapt.

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namdnay
> I'm just saying humans can and will adapt.

The human race as a whole can and will adapt. Just as we have to particularly
virulent strains of influenza. That doesn't mean it won't be a tragedy

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HelloNurse
Looking forward, I'll welcome European bananas and dates and cocoa, but what
other crops will they replace?

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ptah
Does that mean I can grow olives and oranges in Scotland without a greenhouse
now?

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pmontra
Why not, Scotland already has the Inverewe Gardens [1], it's only going to get
hotter (but maybe some harsher winters [2])

[1]
[https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/inverewe/highlights/gard...](https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/inverewe/highlights/garden)

[2]
[http://www.meteo.psu.edu/holocene/public_html/Mann/articles/...](http://www.meteo.psu.edu/holocene/public_html/Mann/articles/articles/MannSciAmFeb19.pdf)

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blunte
Adaptive, not innovative.

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adamc
Adaptation is an innovation if few others are doing it.

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blunte
Fair enough. But the bar is rather low when it comes to commercial farming.

Now a jump to permaculture principles (which also eschews monocultures) would
be the kind of innovation that would lay longer before the next “innovation”
was required.

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est
And it should cost a few seconds to actually hold the like button to like.
This avoids unnecessary likes.

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buboard
Cool story, and definitely climate warming is real, but this doesn't scale.
Hot weather is not new to the mediterranean, and neither are droughts. The
mediterranean basin is blessed with being able to cultivate almost anything.
It is certainly possible to cultivate tropical fruit and tropical animals are
not strangers (lions used to live in greece). But there are at times harsh
non-tropical winters and at times snow. These plants can't survive those
that's why they were never grown en masse.

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Ensorceled
> These plants can't survive those that's why they were never grown en masse.

Now they can. That's the point of the article.

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mahesh_rm
As an Italian who's been living at the equator for a while.. Would you bet a
big part of your capital knowing that a snowstorm in January can wipe out 20
years worth of growing avocado or mango plants? As much as 2.7 degrees in
average temperature rise, though dramatic, does not prevent the possibility of
a month in a winter of rigid temperatures, where your whole avocados and
mangos plantation freezes to death.

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jaclaz
I would add (also as an Italian) that a not so uncommon crop (not only in
Sicily) has been in recent (last 20 or so) years kiwis.

Don't ask me the reason why, but _somehow_ they (the Italian ones) taste very
unlike what a kiwi (in Oz or NZ) tastes, they are somehow less sweet and more
sour.

Maybe it is a different species or the different kinds of ground or maybe they
are harvested and brought to market at different stages, but I believe that
somehow is the difference in climate (even if NZ and Italy are not so
different).

AFAIK most people in EU (that hadn't the occasion to taste the "real" thing)
get used to the taste, but when (if) they happen to go to NZ they suddenly
realize that they had been eating something "different".

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criley2
While I don't have knowledge of Italy or Kiwi, here in my US state of Georgia
this year our watermelon has been extremely good. Very sweet and big melons.
Much better than any year in recent memory.

I was listening to some journalism on the subject and the farmers association
promoting this produce claimed it was due to a very good growing season with
no freezes or bad weather and that conditions remained ideal for basically the
entire season, which almost never happens.

Perhaps the quality of flavor of the kiwi is just affected by the climate and
soil.

Another example more relevant to Italy might be the D.O.P. canned marzano
tomatoes, which have unique flavors due to the soil and climate they are grown
in in Italy.

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jaclaz
>Another example more relevant to Italy might be the D.O.P. canned marzano
tomatoes, which have unique flavors due to the soil and climate they are grown
in in Italy.

Yep, and you should taste them _before_ they are being put inside the cans ...

