As our climate changes, so will our diets. Fix’s Future of Food Issue explores that reality through the lens of foods that show what sustainable, equitable, and resilient eating could look like. Try them yourself with the recipes in our Climate Future Cookbook.
The herd settles under hangar-like roofs, crowding in the shade to escape the 120-degree F heat. Overhead, propeller-sized fans and industrial air coolers roar into action as chilled water circulates through the troughs. Soon, the cattle, as seen in a newsreel, seem none the wiser to the scorching conditions outside — or at least comfortable enough to pump out milk in volumes once possible only in cooler climates.
A desert dairy ranch seems a bit dystopian, a vision of a distant, overheated future. But as more of the world develops a craving for cheese, ice cream, and lattes, cattle farms like this air-conditioned operation in Dubai are appearing in unexpected places.
Globally, the $871 billion dairy industry relies upon some 270 million cows to produce more than 600 million tons of milk annually. All of those bovines consume vast resources — feed, water, land,... Read more
