McKinnis 1

Christopher McKinnis
Professor Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1103
5 October 2015
How Global Warming is Changing Whats On the Dinner Table
Introduction/Overview
For me, global warming has always been a go-to topic for writing important essays and
papers. However, although I know quite a deal about how global warming and how it affects
animals and humans, I wanted for this topic to take a slightly different approach and target a
specific aspect of our lives that we can all relate to: food. With that said, I will be doing my
Extended Inquiry Project on the impact of global warming on our environment and how it affects
our food.
There is no doubt how global warming and climate change have coincided with each
other to affect our world in negative ways. The ozone hole has gradually gotten bigger, glacial
ice is melting at a quicker pace than ever before, sea water heights have increased, and our global
temperatures have reached all-time highs. Although these points may seem crucially important
to our existence as a species, many forget those effects of global warming that hit a little closer to
home, specifically food. An article published in 2014 by The Guardian discusses a report by the
United Nation and how researchers have been examining a possible famine fueled by global
warming. The finding that the potential of climate change threatening global food security
caught the attention of government officials from 115 countries after examining the report.
According to the report, changes in temperature and rainfall patterns could lead to food price
rises of between 3% and 84% by 2050; this is due to a slowing of the rate of increase in crop

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yields, especially wheat. Other sources of food are in potential danger; fish catches in some
tropical areas are projected to fall by between 40% and 60%.
In order to begin with my preliminary research, I examined numerous online sources that
were available for me to access. I found a scholarly article that discussed how soil contents
affected by climate change and global warming have altered crop yields, which was very
comprehensive and detailed with lots of diagrams and graphics. Going forward, I am going to
need to continue with looking online for good scholarly articles as well as credible articles and
reports published by reliable organizations and people. In addition, I would like to find some
print sources in the library to add some variety to my research; however, with global warming
and climate change being something thats constantly changing with time, it is going to be much
more difficult to find up-to-date print sources.
This topic is quite complex, for although my main focus is the impact of climate change
on food, there are many other issues that also arise from the lack of food production, including
famine, economical struggles, and political issues. From the scientific articles and websites that
I have looked at so far, it appears to me that the controversy isnt so much in the fact that climate
change is affecting our food production, but is targeted towards how to tackle the issue and the
secondary effects that will resonate as a result. In order to tackle such a complicated topic, I will
need to target scientific papers, as well articles and reports that are reliable. The main focus
group of people that I will need to confront would be scientists primarily, with farmers,
fishermen, and anyone who is involved with food production in addition.
Initial Inquiry Question(s)
How have global warming and climate change altered our food production on a local and
global scale? How will these changes affect global political and economical affairs?

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My Interest in this Topic

Ever since I was in middle school, I have always been mesmerized by the magic of
weather, wanting to know more and more about tornadoes and thunderstorms. However, my first
taste of what the weather was all about wasnt exactly associated directly with the weather. In
sixth grade, I had begun my journey exploring climate change and global warming, thanks to my
experience in Science Olympiad. Realizing that there were issues with the way humans were
carrying themselves and the impacts of our actions on the environment, I wanted to learn more.
It has always been my go-to topic, and its a topic that contains so much controversy, which
allows a writer to approach this topic at many different angles. However, I understood that
global warming tends to be an overused topic, so I decided to take a different approach that I
wasnt as familiar in. For me, having friends that have grown up on farms and seeing the direct
impact of climate change on the crop yields and overall production of food, whether from the
crops or the animals, gave me the angle that I needed in order to address the issue of global
warming in a different perspective. Seeing the numbers of the potential increase in food prices
really grabbed my attention and I knew that I had to take this angle. Food is such a crucial part
of global culture, and I want to investigate the effects that our actions have had on our food and
how it will affect our way of life in the future.
Next Steps
I will definitely utilize the resources that are available to me at UNC Charlottes library,
especially to get some print sources on my topic if at all possible. I will probably look into some
scientific journals such as Time and Scientific American. In addition, because the United Nations
has a branch specific to climate change, I will investigate into more reports published from the
UN, since they are a highly credible source. Along with the UN, the International Panel of

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Climate Change may also have some information on my topic as well, which I will look into
even more as I progress with my research. Finally, any scientific research papers will be most
crucial to my research, for they are specific and precise, and will provide a lot of insight into not
only the effects of climate change on food, but how it also affects our culture and global affairs.