According to the findings of a report by the UK-US Taskforce on Extreme Weather and Global Food System Resilience, mass global food deficiencies, the likes of which are a once per 100 years occurrence, may be experienced as often as every 3 decades starting in 2040.
The production of soybeans, maize, wheat and rice, as well as other globally significant commodities, is principally limited to India, China and the United States. In these “breadbasket” areas, severe weather conditions are becoming more common due to rising global temperatures.
Phenomena such as intense storms and droughts, which decimate crop production, may leave the entire worldwide food supply susceptible to terrible shocks.
Presenting the report, professor of population ecology at Leeds University, Tim Benson, stated, “The chance of having a weather-related food shock is increasing, and the size of that shock is also increasing.”
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) anticipates that the demand for food will likely increase by a stunning 60% over present levels by the year 2050. This increase in demand for food, at an international level, is more than proportionate when compared to the estimated supply of agricultural produce, according to the report by the UK-US Taskforce on Extreme Weather and Global Food System Resilience.
It’s the risk to that supply caused by extreme weather that’s the issue.
The report lays emphasis on the designing of comprehensive international emergency plans to minimize the shock of food supply shortages and safeguard against any one region being too fundamental to worldwide food production.
It recommends the formation of better contingency models to forecast falls in food production, and more reliable storage practices so nations are ready for any falls that may occur.
According to the report, the countries worst hit by these shocks will be those that are heavily reliant on imported products, particularly those in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, where political turbulence could increase and the prices of oil may rise quickly.
Stay Connected
