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Article-1: How Does Climate Affect Your Diet? -By Sharman Shiralkar
Around the world, many people have different climates that affect how they get food. Whether it be in cold places like the Nordic Countries or hot places like North Africa, many people rely on the food they can find and grow in that area to eat. There are a lot of places in the world that have these mixed climates and foods. But in this article, I will be going through six different climates with their unique diets related to their weather.
1) The Steppes climate1 is a dry, grassland climate which usually has people that have lots of products/foods that include protein and fat in their diets. Example of such foods are meat, dairy, beans, and nuts serving as the main food of each different country which includes that climate. The soil is usually perfect for raising and growing these foods too. These foods are mainly eaten because people need a whole lot of protein and fat to survive in these harsh conditions. The countries which have these climates are Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Botswana, and many more countries.
2) The Dessert climate2 is a hot, dry climate with extraordinarily little rainfall. The people of this climate traditionally adapted their diets, and many of these people are nomadic too because of it. This climate usually has people that rely on various foods like Dates, nuts, seeds, meat from hunted animals, and grains that can be grown in an oasis. Since the people who live in this climate do not have that much food to depend on because of these harsh conditions, they must deal with the food they got or had for their diets. The countries which have these climates are Saudi Arabia, Niger, Namibia, Libya, Somalia, and many more countries.
3) The Tropical and Subtropical climate3 is hot, humid, with an abundant plant life with lots of rainfall. Many people live there in a few ways. This climate usually has people that rely on many foods. They first rely on fruits and vegetables since a lot of famous, delicious fruits and vegetables grow in this climate such as mangos and grapes. Then they rely on staples such as rice, corn, and cassava since this is the right climate for these grains to grow. For protein, they eat fish and beans because of their costal or riverside location. This climate is also home to a lot of spices which are used in their cooking. In fact, many people in that region would rather eat their food right away than preserve it. The countries which have these climates are Brazil, Indonesia, Jamaica, Bangladesh, and many other countries.
4) The temperature climate usually has 4 seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. People that live in this climate usually depend on the food which grows specifically at that time of the year. For spring and summer, people usually eat fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, berries, melons, and corn. For fall and winter, people would usually depend on vegetables like beet, carrots, and potatoes. But a lot of people would prefer preserved foods like jam or jelly. For grains, people would prefer wheat which gets turned into flour to make oats, cereal, or pasta with it. Meat and dairy also play a significant role since their climate is perfect for raising livestock. The countries which have these climates are the Japan, Germany, Argentina, Ukraine, and many more countries.
5) The continental climate4 also has 4 different seasons except with hot summers and cold winters. Just like the temperature climate, people that live in this climate usually depend on the food which grows in that specifically at that time of the year. The food they eat year-round is just like the food from the temperature climate. But in cold winters, they would focus on high-calorie foods because they have the fat which people in that climate need for their bodies. Stews, soups, and casseroles are popular in that climate too. The countries which have these climates are the Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, and more countries.
6) The polar climate5 is very cold and dry, but people had traditionally adapted to the climate to live there. The Sami, Norwegian, Inuit, Icelandic, and Siberian people had found their ways to survive in this weather. Their main sources of food, fat, and protein are meat and fish. Many people there would eat sea mammals like walruses and whales as their main food since most of the food they could collect is in the ocean. They would then collect fat and oils from those meat and fish to make sure they would stay warm. The people there would also collect berries for fruits to preserve them for the harsh winter later. They would also create ways to preserve fish later. Even though modern transportation is making a difference, they still must use their skills about this climate. The countries which have this climate is Canada, Russia, Norway, Iceland, Alaska, USA, and Greenland, Denmark.
I have covered all the 6 important climates of the world and their unique diets that they take during each season of the year. They have or tried to include all the main sections for their diet. Overall, lots of regions in the world have unique diets based on the climates that their country is in, and they try their best to keep their food as healthy as possible.
Picture courtesy from Wikipedia, For reference, see,
1 Semi-arid climate – Wikipedia
2 BW climate – Desert climate – Wikipedia
3 Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests – Wikipedia
4 Humid continental climate – Wikipedia
5 The Arctic Permafrost, Arctic Maps – Visualizing the Arctic | The Arctic Institute – Center for Circumpolar Security Studies