Experts have warned that the "era of ever cheaper food" is coming to an end as the worsening effects of climate change are expected to hit supply chains.
The third IPCC report on Climate Change was published yesterday and gave a stark warning about the drastic societal changes necessary to prevent disastrous global warming effects.
Speaking on Today with Claire Byrne, RTE journalist Philip Boucher Hayes discussed all three IPCC Climate Change reports to date and said the first two can be summarised by "adapt or die".
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He said: "What those two reports set out is what's going to happen here by 2040 and then by 2100 if we stick with business as usual.
"How bad it will be essentially for 3.3 billion people who are directly in the firing line, 40% of the world's population are going to hit to a greater or less degree by 127 different climate change weather related impacts.
"Interestingly and much more concretely for us here in somewhere that is not going to be immediately affected climatically in the same way that the rest of the world is, these reports show that for places like Ireland, climate change is not something that just happens on the other side of the world.
"It is real and it is pressing here because everything is so interlinked in an era of globalisation."
Mr Boucher Hayes said the years of cheap food are ending.
"It would seem that the era of ever cheaper food is at an end now, according to the scientists," he said.
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"It's been getting cheaper and cheaper for about 50 years but from now on there are going to be supply chain disruptions, increased demand, reduced supply, spiralling costs.
"This is not exclusively down to climate but the unpredictable droughts and the floods all along our supply chain are going to be a very significant factor in that."
He said the new, third IPCC report is saying a "wholesale restructuring of society" is necessary.
"If you want to keep the planet liveable, if you want to keep warming between 1.5 and 2 degrees, you are going to have to do nothing short of restructuring the economy, government, society and the way we do all of our business," he said.
"The scientists have gone further than they ever have before in providing a blue print for the rest of this make or break decade.
"The report specifically says we need to reduce emissions by 43% by the end of this decade in order to have a shot at 1.5 degrees.
"At present, emissions are going to increase by 14%."
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