Written by Dennis Liu, Four Green Steps

Truffle mushrooms are a precious delight that is craved by the world’s ever-growing population. It excites people’s taste buds in forms of gourmet dishes, and snacks around the globe. About 200 to 300 tonnes of truffles were sold in the 1960s, while it is believed to have sold 1000 tonnes in the 1900s. However, only 25 tonnes were sold in the 2010-2011 season. Being this popular, one would ask, why are the sales declining over the years? The answer is not surprising, this delicious treasure did not lose its popularity in time, but the decline is caused by the drop in supply.

Truffle’s decrease in production originated from a rural exodus that evacuated the countryside of France after World War II. The evacuation caused truffle’s natural habitat to be invaded by other competitive fungi (mushroom), which led to a huge production loss. Moreover, the truffle is very sensitive to water depletion which is partially affected by global warming. As the average global temperature is rising, water depletion is threatening the production of truffles. Due to the heat wave in 2003, France’s truffle production was cut down to a quarter of the original production rate, while more than half stopped producing the next year. Fortunately, action is being made to rescue the truffle production. For example, government subsidies fund research to boost the rate of truffle production. Every year in the Midi-Pyrenees region, government subsidies promote the growth of approximately 100 hectares of truffles. The French Truffle Growers Federation also assists in the rescue, by planting 1000 hectares of truffles each year on top of the normal production. Although it is true that the current truffle planting’s effect will only be obviously after around 10 years, it is important that we are realizing the threats to truffle production on time. By actively promoting the growth of truffles, whether to push growth in quantity, or to strengthen truffle spore’s adaptability of draughts, production can still recover over time even under global warming. When these edible gems can costs as much as 1000 euros per kilogram at retail price, it is worth every effort to mend the supply shortage as early on as possible.

Image courtesy of Creative Commons.

| More...