Fresh Vegetables And Fruit From Greenland? Hmmm . . .

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The image of a fresh vegetable garden in subarctic weather may be a little difficult to conjure up. However, believe it or not, thanks to global warming this is not as rare a sight and as years go by, one that may become increasingly common especially, in areas like Greenland.

What's even more amazing is the variety that the locals have been able to grow - They include herbs like thyme and vegetables like peppers, tomatoes and cabbage. Kim Ernst, a Danish chef who has an outdoor garden and a greenhouse, has even managed to grow a handful of strawberries, that he reserved for a special dinner he hosted for the Scandinavian royal family.

And while most vegetables are confined to small gardens, potatoes are doing so well that they are currently being grown commercially in Southern Greenland - In 2012 over 100 metric tons of the tubers were harvested, double that of 2008 and this year's crop is expected to be twice that!

Also, thanks to the increasingly abundant grass under the melting ice, the reindeers belonging to the local Inuit hunters are becoming healthier and fatter! Greenland's Prime Minister believes that if the warming trends continue, they will be able to witness even more development in cattle and agriculture farming. This is welcome news for the self-governing country of 57,000 largely Inuit residents, that depends on Denmark for its food supply.

The ironic part is that if agriculture does really start to take off, the farmers may have to figure out an irrigation system - For believe it or not, just like many countries all over the world, one of the side effects of global warming in the Arctic, has been dry summers!

While all this may sound alarming to most of us and raise even bigger global warming red flags, the locals are thrilled - They want things to get even warmer. Maybe Greenland will finally live up to the name Erik the Red gave the ice-covered island in the 10th Century, in an attempt to attract more settlers!

Resources: reuter.com, dailymail.co.uk

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89 Comments
  • horselover101over 11 years
    a-ma-zing
    • horselover101over 11 years
      that is soo cool i thught strawberries were normally grown in the warmer places not cold places like greenland!!!
      • minchauwinterover 11 years
        cool growing fruits and veggies when its cold.
        • b3cc8
          b3cc8over 11 years
          Cool
          • directioner!!!!over 11 years
            wow this is crazy
            • 1dloverover 11 years
              i love fruits and veggies
              • mlammyover 11 years
                it is so cool! i would never of thought that greenland would ever be able to grow anything. it is always so icy and cold. don't you think that iceland should be called greenland because there is much more green and greenland iceland because there is much more ice?
                • bella thornover 11 years
                  how can fruits AND vegetables grow in Greenland where its cold?!?!?!?!?
                  • epicguy123
                    epicguy123over 11 years
                    The people must be starving and be so grateful for the food! :3
                    • candy18627
                      candy18627over 11 years
                      they get to but we cannt