Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.
Today, we’re looking at a luxury ingredient that’s at risk of dropping off the menu: the truffle.
These pungent subterranean mushrooms are famous for their intense flavor, and they’re so rare they can fetch thousands of dollars a pound. But those prices might start getting even higher… because of climate change.
To help us understand more about this mystery mushroom and the dangers they face, we had James Chafouleas and Shane Toomey from our Possibly team look into it…
James Chafouleas: Hi, Megan!
Shane Toomey: Hey, Megan.
Megan Hall: So truffles, they’re the epitome of luxury. Some have sold for over $15,000 a pound. But what is it about that specific scent that makes them so desirable, and so worth protecting?
Rowan Jacobsen: It really grabs your brain in a way, it’s intense and pungent and garlicy, but also like funky, like an aged prosciutto or something.
James Chafouleas: That’s Rowan Jacobsen. He’s a James Beard award-winning food writer and the author of the book “Truffle Hound.”
Rowan Jacobsen: As soon as somebody holds a truffle up to their nose, their eyes get big every time. It’s like the ‘truffle face.’
Shane Toomey: But Rowan says that this “truffle face” might become a lot harder to find in the future, because these mushrooms are incredibly sensitive to our changing environment.
Rowan Jacobsen: “Drought is a big threat to the truffle business. Just like mushrooms they like water a lot, right? They don’t like soil to be too dry. You have to have summer rains if you’re gonna have those truffles form in the fall.
Shane Toomey: And that’s the problem. Research shows that as the climate changes, summer droughts in the Mediterranean are becoming more frequent and more intense.
Shane Toomey: Scientific studies of decades of harvest data confirm that the truffle harvest is dependent on summer precipitation.
Megan Hall: Can’t we just farm truffles and use irrigation?
James Chafouleas: Rowan says, that depends:
Rowan Jacobsen: The winter blacks not a problem because they are farmed very successfully, most black truffles today are farmed. But white truffles Appalachians, the Oregon truffles, those are all dependent on wild forests and on, semi-normal conditions. So they all could disappear via climate change.
James Chafouleas: And even the land truffles have is under pressure. In regions like Italy, forests are being cleared to expand vineyards, and that wipes out the truffle habitat entirely.
Rowan Jacobsen: So there’s this tension in Italy and other wine-growing regions that also have truffles where, the more they clear forests, the fewer truffles they have.
Shane Toomey: This is a huge issue for local communities where truffle hunting defines their cultural identity and drives tourism.
Megan Hall: So what can we do to protect them?
Rowan Jacobsen: So there definitely is movement across Europe, to recognize the importance of these forests and protect them. Wild travel hunting is great because it gives the forest a value and, a sense of purpose, a sense of meaning to all the people who live there. And it just makes them very appreciative and very protective of those forests.
James Chafouleas: If you’ve had truffle products and don’t get the hype, you may be in for a surprise.
Rowan Jacobsen: If you’ve had truffle popcorn and said I don’t understand that stuff sucks you haven’t had a real truffle yet. It’s often made with fake truffle scent. But most people, that’s the only truffle they’ve ever smelled. So they think that’s what a truffle is.
Shane Toomey: If you want the real truffle smell experience, you have to go to the source.
Rowan Jacobsen: That smells destroyed by heat and processing. So it’s gotta be fresh. I think it’s really important to go experience a real truffle.
James Chafouleas: And if the conservation movement isn’t successful, the “truffle face” disappears right along with the forests.
Megan Hall: Got it! Thanks, James and Shane!
That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at askpossibly.org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on social media at “ask possibly” Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Ocean State Media, and WBRU.
