Europe Is Heating Up. What Does That Mean for the Future of Food?

July 2026

Another summer, another wave of record-breaking temperatures across Europe.

For many people, heatwaves are an inconvenience. For the food industry, they are a reminder of something much bigger: our food system is becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate change.

Europe is now the world's fastest-warming continent, warming at around twice the global average.¹ The cost of climate change is also accelerating, with more than €208 billion in weather- and climate-related economic losses recorded between 2021 and 2024.²

Europe has long relied on a relatively small number of staple crops and sourcing regions. But as temperatures rise, droughts become more frequent and weather patterns become less predictable, that model faces increasing pressure. In some parts of southern Europe, climate change could reduce wheat and maize yields by up to 49% by 2050 if adaptation is insufficient.³

For food businesses, resilience is becoming just as important as price and quality.

Diversifying our food system

One way to build greater resilience is by diversifying the crops we grow and the ingredients we use.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), just 15 crop plants provide around 90% of the world's food energy intake. Of that, rice, maize and wheat account for around two-thirds.⁴

This concentration has helped create highly efficient food systems. But it also highlights the importance of broadening our options as climate pressures intensify.

Many underutilised crops have evolved over centuries to thrive in challenging conditions, requiring fewer inputs such as irrigation, synthetic fertilisers and pesticides. They offer an opportunity to strengthen supply chains while enabling food businesses to innovate and differentiate their products.

Why Fonio Deserves Attention

Fonio is one example. Cultivated in West Africa for more than 5,000 years, fonio is naturally gluten-free, cooks in just a few minutes, and is suitable for applications ranging from grain bowls and porridges to bakery products, pasta and gluten-free flour blends.

Beyond its versatility, fonio is extremely drought-tolerant, requires no irrigation, grows on poor soils in less than 8 weeks, and is traditionally cultivated with minimal agricultural inputs.

While no single crop is a solution to climate change, ingredients like fonio can play an important role in building a more resilient and diversified food system.

Looking beyond today's ingredients

Building a more resilient food system does not mean replacing wheat, rice or maize.

It means broadening our options.

At Future Foods Africa, we believe African ancient grains have an important role to play in that future. That's why we help UK food businesses innovate, differentiate and meet growing consumer demand by discovering, sourcing and trialling Africa's ancient grains, starting with fonio.

The future of food will depend not only on how we grow it, but also on how willing we are to diversify it.

Sources

¹ European Environment Agency (EEA). Climate change impacts, risks and adaptation – Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent.

² European Environment Agency (EEA). Economic losses from weather- and climate-related extremes in Europe.

³ European Environment Agency (EEA). Building climate-resilient agriculture in Europe: an economic perspective.

⁴ Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture.