Opinion — World

Food Shortage - A Perfect Storm On Top Of A Perfect Storm

Fifty million people in 45 countries are knocking on famine’s door.

September 25, 2022 . 7:00 AM

3 min read

Soup kitchen "Casa del Pueblo La Dignidad" in Buenos Aires. BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - AUGUST 15: People who are below the poverty line search for food in the Casa del Pueblo soup kitchen in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Aug. 15, 2022. The soup kitchen "Casa del Pueblo La Dignidad" feeds more than 150 people a day in the most exclusive neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Palermo. An enterprise, mostly women, who cook from 6am to 3pm more than 50kg of food for the most needy in the area. Based on the economic crisis, the accelerated inflation that the country is experiencing and the lack of products from the basic food basket, the humblest will receive a plate of food at the "Casa del Pueblo La Dignidad" soup kitchen. With an inflation projection in Argentina of 90% per year, there are more and more habitants who fall below the poverty zone in the country. (Photo by Pablo Barrera/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

“It’s a perfect storm on top of a perfect storm” are the cautionary words used by the UN World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley to describe the potential food crisis threatening the world.

The Covid-19 pandemic had already doubled the number of severely food insecure people from 135 million to 276 million in just two years. Inclement weather and draughts attributed to climate change in farming countries worldwide have increased that number. Now, the ongoing war in Ukraine has the potential to become the proverbial last straw.