Turkeys and Trees are Scarce this Christmas

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Families may have to forego the traditional Christmas turkey

Just as people are gearing up for Christmas in Vancouver, two essentials will be hard to come by this year -- a real tree to decorate and a turkey to gobble up.

There are increasing cases of avian flu in British Columbia, which has resulted in the culling of over 280,000 birds, most of them turkeys as well as ducks, chickens and laying hens. So even the idea of a roast duck for December 25 is out. 

"The BC Turkey Marketing Board tells me that they're looking to be 20 percent short of how much they grow," said Amanda Britten, chief information officer for the BC Poultry Association.

"Turkeys grow for 13 to 15 weeks, so there's no time to grow more before Christmas."

Large number of turkeys contracting avian flu

So if you manage to spot a turkey in the supermarket, buy it right away, otherwise there may be no more later.

And then climate change is causing a shortage of Christmas trees this year.

It takes eight to 12 years for the trees to grow to the size most customers want, but the last two summers have seen extreme heat in the summer, and these young trees don't have deep enough root systems that go beyond the dry layers of soil near the top.

Interestingly the atmospheric rivers that caused massive floods last year didn't affect the trees as much as the heat.

The warmer weather can also cause the trees to be more susceptible to disease, according to Richard Hamelin, head of the forest conservation sciences department at the University of British Columbia.

"Just like humans, when we are stressed or when we're more tired, we're more susceptible to diseases. Well, trees are the same way," he said. "All this added stress from all this heat and flooding make the trees more susceptible to pests and pathogens."

Climate change makes it harder for trees to grow

In addition more and more Christmas tree farms are closing, as it takes nearly a decade to grow the trees to the right size and farmers aren't getting any younger. They are between the ages of 65 and 85 years old and the next generation aren't interested in the business.

The total area of Christmas tree farms shrank by 20,000 acres between 2011 and 2021.

Hopefully this will push more people to opt out of having a tree altogether, or buy a fake one.

What a strange Christmas this year. But then again, change is good! But I will miss having turkey congee on Boxing Day...