It ’s almost impossible to imagine Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie , but rainy late spring and early summertime weather in the Carry Nation ’s top pumpkin vine - growing region could mean disaster for holiday menus this class .
AsThinkProgress’Natasha Geiling reports , 90 percentage of the pumpkins in the U.S. are grown within 90 land mile of Peoria , Illinois . Libby ’s Pumpkin , which ply more than 85 percent of the world ’s canned pumpkin , is headquartered in nearby Morton , Illinois , “ the ego - predicate pumpkin capital of the world . ”
deluge in the region between May and July this year — almost two feet of rain fell during that cardinal produce period , according toJim Angel , DoS climatologist — sheer yields to half the normal amount . The pitiable takings also caused the 2015 harvest to end about a month early .
Libby ’s anticipates get enough pumpkin until November but not beyond that , a corporate spokesperson toldThinkProgress . After the start of November , there will likely be no stockpile to stock supermarket shelf .
That could go out Christmas shopper in a bind . “ If you want to have a Libby ’s pumpkin [ pie ] for Thanksgiving or Christmas , get your Cucurbita pepo now , ” Paul Bakus , president of incarnate affairs at Nestlé ( the owner of Libby’s),said .
And as Marissa Fessenden forSmithsonian.comnotes , while it ’s often hard to tie discrete atmospheric condition event to climate modification , Illinois has unquestionably been suffering from utmost weather . The state get arecord - breakingamount of pelting in June—9.42 inches , or more than twice the average for that month . “ I firmly believe that the intellect for this is because of clime modification , ” Bakus said .
The anticipate shortage could come after thekale panic of 2015 in New York Cityand the abbreviated but worryingsriracha dearth , while mirror the more meaning threats facingcoffee , chocolate , andbananas . But do n’t worry — your manual laborer - o - lanterns and decorative gourd arestill secure . For now .
[ h / tSmithsonian.com , ThinkProgress ]
