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For as far as one can see, olive trees march across the fertile plain of Andalusia, Spain, near the city of Jaén, the olive oil capital of the world. An estimated forty million olive trees dot the region to produce the “liquid gold,” as the poet Homer called it, that drives the local economy. Most of the trees are the Picual variety, planted in 33-foot grids. At harvest time, machines shake the trees and collect the olives in screens that look like large upside-down umbrellas. Spain has been producing olive oil since it was part of the Roman Empire and is the world’s largest producer. Record heat waves in recent years, driven by climate change, cut the country’s production nearly in half, leading to the highest olive oil prices in decades.

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For as far as one can see, olive trees march across the fertile plain of Andalusia, Spain, near the city of Jaén, the olive oil capital of the world. An estimated forty million olive trees dot the region to produce the “liquid gold,” as the poet Homer called it, that drives the local economy. Most of the trees are the Picual variety, planted in 33-foot grids. At harvest time, machines shake the trees and collect the olives in screens that look like large upside-down umbrellas. Spain has been producing olive oil since it was part of the Roman Empire and is the world’s largest producer. Record heat waves in recent years, driven by climate change, cut the country’s production nearly in half, leading to the highest olive oil prices in decades.

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