Sue F (@sue-f.bsky.social)

Why seasonal eating could help fight climate instability Modern food systems have disconnected food from seasonality, geography and local ecology, creating increasingly uniform diets year-round. A look at Indigenous food cultures around the world reveals how communities have historically adapted their diets to climate, scarcity and seasonal change. As climate instability increases, preserving seasonal and indigenous food knowledge may become essential for building more resilient food systems. In parts of Rajasthan's Thar Desert in India, a shrub locally known as “lana” (Haloxylon salicornicum) appears only during winter and the slightest rise in temperature burns it away. For generations, communities have gathered and mixed it with “bajra” (pearl millet) flour to make “dhokli,” a seasonal dish believed to warm the body, eaten during the coldest months of the year. This pairing is a hyperlocal example of the relationship among food, body and seasonality, factors that once dictated diets across much of the world. Communities adapted to eat what their landscapes offered and what their body needed as seasons changed. However, we understand food systems to operate quite differently now. Industrial agriculture, long-distance trade and global supply chains have made many foods available regardless of season or geography, pushing the locally grown, seasonally available produce out of public markets and... https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/06/seasonal-eating-defence-against-climate-instability/