A super el Niño threatens our food system. Here’s how farms can prepare | Liz Carlisle

Planting cover crops or perennial plants can protect soil amid potential flooding. Congress must act to protect these practices

As forecasters warn that this year’s El Niño could become the strongest on record, concerns are growing about its effect on agriculture and food security.

The United States will not be hit nearly as hard as Central and South America, the Caribbean, and southern Africa, but severe weather could cause significant crop loss in some parts of the country.

Liz Carlisle is associate professor of Environmental Studies at UC Santa Barbara. She is the author of Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming and co-editor of Living Roots: The Promise of Perennial Foods