With the high likelihood of more drought conditions on the horizon, Albertans will feel the impacts in many ways.
One of those ways is what we choose to buy at the grocery store and what will be available to us. University of Alberta professor of agricultural economics Ellen Goddard has completed research into how drought could affect the purchasing decisions on Canadian consumers.
Goddard said the first thing consumers will notice is that some foods will not be available, or there will be low quantities of others, which could increase the price.
She used the example of beef cattle, saying if the cows graze pasture and there is less pasture growth, there won’t be enough food for many animals, and that could cause beef prices to go up.
“Ranchers may choose to cut back their cow herds a bit so they aren’t having as many animals in the face of drought. That can turn around and increase the cost of beef,” said Goddard.
Goddard added the same thing goes for fruits and vegetables that require a lot of water to grow. She pointed out that the inflationary trends traditionally decrease in the summer, but drought may mean buyers will not have any relief when it comes to grocery prices.
“Even if we import them and drought is impacting their productivity, we may see prices there. Now the question is whether the inflationary trends are starting to go downward in terms of prices, as they often do in the summer, and whether the drought pushes us back up or keeps us at the normal level.”
Goddard has also studied whether consumers care about the sustainability in their food purchases and the answer is yes.
“Consumers are very concerned about water as a resource. In 2016, about 39 per cent of the people who responded to a national survey identified water as the most important resource they were worried about being sustainable and it was up to 49 per cent in 2023. “
Goddard found that consumers will pay more for a product if they know that the item had a higher sustainable rating. She said consumers understand that water shortages can affect food prices but are willing to pay more if the item was produced more efficiently.
Through her research, Goddard said she found that people are incredibly sympathetic to farmers. She said Albertans feel that farmers are an important part of our cultural identity and will do anything they can to support them.
“If you give people a sense that farmers are hurting, or their bottom line is hurting, or their productivity is being affected, then consumers want to support farmers.”
The province of Alberta has created a drought command team and a new water advisory committee in an effort to prepare for drought.