Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, warnings about the food crisis have been heard. According to statistics, in the first few months of 2022, the number of hungry people around the world surged from 282 million to 345 million. Recently, the UN World Food Programme issued another solemn warning, saying that humans may face the biggest food crisis since World War II . Today, when agricultural science and technology are already very developed, why are there still so many people unable to eat enough? Is it a natural disaster or a man-made disaster?
Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Middle East food security has suffered a serious impact. Russia and Ukraine are important granaries around the world, producing 55% of the world's sunflower oil , 32% of barley, 30% of wheat and 20% of corn. After the conflict broke out, Russia and Ukraine's food supply to the Middle East was significantly reduced due to supply chain disruptions.
According to statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about 55 million people in Arab countries are facing the threat of hunger, and Africa has a food shortage of 30 million tons, and the food prices on the entire African continent have risen by as much as 40%. According to data from the United Nations, the number of people affected by hunger in the world has reached 828 million in 2021.
On July 22, in order to restore the issue of agricultural products transporting at the Black Sea port, Russia, Ukraine signed an agreement with the United Nations and Turkey to ensure that Russia's grain and fertilizers can enter the world market unimpeded. However, on October 29, a cannon fired and the Russian Black Sea Fleet was attacked. Russia announced that it would suspend the "Black Sea Port Agricultural Products Transport Agreement" indefinitely. The West immediately gave Russia a big hat that threatened global food security. EU top diplomatic head Borrelli tweeted accusation of Moscow 's decision jeopardizing the main export routes for food and fertilizers needed to respond to the global food crisis. However, the Russian President believes that the Black Sea Port Agricultural Products Transportation Agreement has deviated from its original intention. On November 2, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement saying that it had received a written assurance from Ukraine that it would not use the maritime food corridor and Ukrainian ports to launch military operations against Russia, and that Russia would resume the implementation of the Black Sea Port Agricultural Products Transport Agreement.
In 2021, Russia's wheat production accounted for 9.7% of the world and exported 16.9%. Can exported grain bring income to Russia, will Russia cut off its own financial path? If Russia doesn't, then who will cut off Russia's financial path?
As the United States and Europe imposed sanctions on Russia, Russian ships were banned from traveling to the port of Mediterranean , foreign ships were also banned from traveling to Russian ports to transport food and other cargo. In July and August this year, Russian wheat exports fell 22% year-on-year. In the third quarter of this year, there were only 24 countries with buyers of Russian wheat, compared with 54 in the same period last year. The number of enterprises also engaged in grain exports has also dropped from 88 to 49. The food crisis next year is very likely to be more serious because of the sanctions that Russia's fertilizers cannot be transported around the world. Russia is the world's largest supplier of chemical fertilizers, the world's largest exporter of nitrogen fertilizer , the second largest supplier of potassium fertilizer , and the third largest exporter of phosphorus fertilizer .
It should be pointed out that the crux of this round of food crisis is not the total amount, but the price. There is no shortage of food in the world. Although wheat and corn inventory has continued to decline in recent years, it is still at a historical high, and global population growth has not exceeded the overall food supply capacity. However, the wheat futures price on Chicago Futures Exchange has risen about 12% over the past 12 months, and corn prices have risen about 26% soybean prices have risen about 12%. The crazy price rise is because the grain supply chain is distorted, and the grain cannot reach where it should go. There is an invisible hand behind it to manipulate it!
The British " Guardian " pointed out that "as long as you are alive, you cannot escape the four giants in the world." The so-called four giants refer to the world's food trading giants: AidiMeng ADM, Cargill , Bangji and Louis Dreyfu . The first three companies are all American companies. Although Louis Dreyfus is headquartered in France, it also has American Capital holding . These four grain trading giants control 80% of the world's grain trading volume and influence the daily lives of more than 7 billion people around the world.On the surface, the current pattern is the result of natural competition, but behind it is more like a chess move that Wall Street Industrial Capital and the US government have worked together to carefully plan for many years. The essence is that the United States has formed support for the US dollar in terms of food and energy. Its basic triangle: the dollar, food and energy, and behind this design is the connection between the greed of American capital and the US government.
Former US Secretary of Agriculture John Brock once said that food is a weapon, and the way to use it is to tie various countries to us. For more than 100 years, the four major grain merchants in have been widely deployed on the global geographical channels like octopus, building granaries, building ports, and building barges in various parts of the world, step by step creating a logistics grid that covers the world. Through a century of operation, they have successfully established a huge grain production system that accurately fits the clock. Every day, soybeans from Brazil, cocoa from Ghana, wheat from Ukraine, palm oil from Indonesian , palm oil are shipped to factories everywhere, processed into food, and sold to the whole world. Historically, the United States has used its control over food many times to consolidate its hegemony. Oil, food, US dollars. Anyone who shakes the foundation of American hegemony will be ruthlessly suppressed!
U.S. food deglobalization, energy and trade oligopoly ization is the root cause of global food security issues. With its hegemony in food, the United States has been politicizing, weaponizing and instrumentalizing food aid. The United States has been snatching, grabbing, and even smashing jobs around the world. Today, the world is becoming an increasingly community, the destiny of mankind is closely linked, and global food security issues are urgently needed for global cooperation. Using rations as a bargaining chip and political weapon, completely ignoring the survival and development of poor countries and people is not only immoral, but will eventually ruin your own job!
