THIS IS THE KIND OF RESULT THAT WILL MOTIVATE US TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

We are not all familiar with the Brassica juncea species of mustard seed. But the French know it well – and hence the looming tragedy. These seeds are dying in the heat of Burgundy. The backup source in Ukraine has quite literally dried up, and what there is of the seed is stalled in shipping logjams of biblical proportions.

French chefs depend on the seed for Dijon mustard which is a beloved product with no suitable substitutes, Although it is rarely done in public, the French like to spread a bit of Dijon on freshly-based baguettes. Yes, they have honey mustard and that yellow stuff the British seem to like. But nothing is bringing the drought and the effects of climate change home to the French more dramatically that the sight of empty shelves where the five or six varieties of Dijon once dwelled.