If you’ve gone to the store recently and found no Dijon mustard on the shelf, blame Canada (partly). This happened to me at our local IGA market last week; I didn’t find out why until this article crossed my virtual desk.
The writer is a bit smirky at the French freaking out about mustard–antipathy towards French culture is common in the English press here, but that’s another story— but the facts are serious: global warming has contributed to the failure of mustard crops here in Canada, and that has impacted the worldwide Dijon mustard supply chain.
It’s not the only stuff that’s hard to get these days, as we all know. With so much economic and infrastructure damage caused by the pandemic and climate change, it seems likely we may lose (or at least have a harder time obtaining) many things we once took for granted. Mustard might be one of them.
Mustard cultivation has been around since 1850 BCE; mustard seed is used as a condiment worldwide. It’s hard to imagine a delicious world without it.
P.S. Went to the IGA again today and there was some Dijon mustard on the previously empty shelf. Not a lot, but some. Whew for now.