Is there enough food for everyone? Why is the threat of famine being talked about more and more often?

My great-grandmother died in besieged Leningrad fromhunger. She never saw her husband and did not know how the life of their child would turn out. When she died, her grandmother was only 13 years old, but every day throughout her life, she remembered her parents and told me about them. For us, the children of a peaceful and well-fed time, hunger seemed to be something far away, something that happened a long time ago and not with us. But life is unpredictable. And unfair, as much as we would not like it. Over the past few years, the familiar world has collapsed, and human cruelty, which was spoken of as something that has sunk into the past, has once again shown its face to the world. At the same time, not all countries can feed their own citizens, of course, for various reasons. But no matter how enlightened and humane the former life may seem to us, right now millions of people do not have access to drinking water, food, or medicines.

Experts are sounding the alarm: many countries face food shortages that could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe

According to UN data for 2021, with hungerfaced by at least 811 million people from at least 20 countries. Armed conflicts that periodically arise on the planet in its most diverse corners exacerbate the situation, contributing, among other things, to the onset of famine. Today, talk about the worsening food situation and the coming famine does not stop. So what's in store for us?

Hunger or malnutrition occurs when calorie intake is below the minimum dietary energy requirement

Hunger and climate change

It may seem surprising, but the dangerworld hunger really exists. Its main driver is climate change: people living in low-income countries face a frightening reality every day. Droughts, floods and storms are already undermining food security, agricultural production and the lack of vital resources. And in order to survive, people are forced to leave their homes.

These patterns are consistent with the findingslatest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). If greenhouse gas emissions remain at current levels, the risk of shocks to the food supply will increase significantly, according to the report. After all, if there is no harvest in the producing countries, this will lead to shortages and rising prices. The researchers also note that food production growth has already fallen by 21% due to global warming.

“If we do not fight climate change andIf we don’t help people adapt, the world will face destabilization, migration and hunger. The current humanitarian needs will seem insignificant if the world fails to deal with this threat. My colleague Andrei Zhukov recently spoke in more detail about the latest IPCC report, I recommend reading it.

World Food Program predicts risk of famine in Africa and the Middle East

Moreover, according to the IPCC, in the next two decades, the average temperature on the planet will increase by 1.5°C, which will lead to irreversible consequences. More than 40% of the world's population already living in places highly vulnerable to climaticinfluences. As the actions of world leaders in the fight against global warming have not been enough, extreme weather and biodiversity loss risk becoming the biggest problem of the coming decade. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic is also making its contribution.

More on the topic: Our hot future: what are the health risks of rising temperatures?

Hungry Age

Trouble, as you know, does not come alone.The coronavirus pandemic has already claimed millions of lives, dealing a powerful blow to the global economy. And, as with any crisis, it is the poorest and most vulnerable who suffer the most. International conflicts also make a significant contribution to the food problem, and the consequences will be reflected on all continents. Thus, Russia and Ukraine are the main suppliers of grain to the world market (their share is up to 30% of world wheat exports). The tense situation is already significantly complicating food supplies.

The researchers note that the productionfertilizers and disruption of crop supplies lead to the inevitable increase in the price of products, contributing to economic turmoil around the world. So, in just a month, world prices for wheat rose by about 21%, barley by 33%, and the cost of some fertilizers even jumped by as much as 40%. In other words, the world is facing a major crisis that could lead to a global food emergency.

Drought in Somalia. Millions of people do not have access to food and water

Food supply disruptions, drought, shortagesfood for refugees and record high fertilizer prices contribute to food insecurity around the world. Moreover, in recent weeks, the cost of wheat in the world has risen sharply, contributing to global hunger, according to the German publication Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten.

According to available estimates, in only one 2020year, between 720 and 811 million people in the world faced hunger. The pandemic, rapid climate change and armed conflict pose a serious threat to the future of humanity. For example, we recently talked about the bird flu epidemic that has spread to a large number of countries, in particular the United States, one of the largest suppliers of chicken meat. Cattle are also not in good health due to the FMD outbreak, you can read more about what is happening here.

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Grim future

If we evaluate the existing problems in the globalscale rather than within a single country, the future looks bleak. The stealth omicron is raging in China right now, and scientists are increasingly reminding that the coronavirus is just the beginning. Climate change, along with environmental degradation, is destroying the future of all of us, all of us who walk the surface of the Earth today. Of course, you should not expect an asteroid crash and instant death - changes will occur gradually.

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In 2022, the region is projected toWest and Central Africa, more than 61 million people will need assistance. The number of food insecure people in these regions is growing rapidly, with more than 20 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia in dire need of food and water. Millions of families have failed to harvest while thousands of farm animals are emaciated or dead. Experts call shocking figures - in 2022, the death of people from starvation exceeds 2 million people.

Half of Africa's wheat imports come from Ukraine and Russia, which is also a major fertilizer exporter.

In East Africa, food prices indrought-affected areas also rose over many months. The reason was a combination of various kinds of problems, including economic ones. All these factors together deprive families of basic necessities and the right to life. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), today There are 811 million hungry people in more than 80 countries. Of these, 44 million people in 38 countries are on the verge of starvation.

If these numbers continue to grow, then the worldface a global catastrophe. What do you think about this? Can we avoid the worst forecasts? We will wait for the answer here, as well as in the comments to this article. Take care of yourself and loved ones.