Food Security

Jessica Barnes, University of South Carolina | Russia’s war on Ukraine is disrupting global grain supplies. Restrictions on navigation in the Azov Sea and the closure of ports have interrupted grain shipments from Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, and economic sanctions are complicating purchase agreements. Amid concerns about meeting food needs at home, Ukraine […]

Arab World

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Exacerbates Hunger in Middle East, North Africa: Strong Government Response Needed to Protect the Right to Food

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch) – (Beirut) – Governments should ensure that the conflict in Ukraine does not worsen the food crisis in the Middle East and North Africa and protect the right to affordable, adequate food for everyone, Human Rights Watch said today. Both Ukraine and Russia are leading exporters of agricultural products to many Middle […]

Afghanistan

Afghans face Harsh Winter, Hunger, lack of Health Clinics: How much of it is our Fault?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The ancient Greek philosopher Bion of Borysthenes said that boys throw stones at frogs in jest, but the frogs die in earnest. The United States government hasn’t placed sanctions on Afghanistan as a joke, but it certainly has done so in a blunt way, and Afghans are on the verge […]

Agriculture

How Climate Change and extreme Weather may lead to Food Shortages and Escalating Prices

The Conversation

By Paul Ekins | – In a world with an increasing human population, climate change may have a serious impact on our ability to grow enough food. Research from as far back as 2007 found that around 30% of year-to-year fluctuations in tonnes of crops grown per hectare were due to changes in the climate. […]

Afghanistan

Collective Punishment as War Crime: 90% of Afghan Families Lack enough Food because the West is Punishing the Taliban

Foreign Policy in Focus

By John Sifton | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation is spiraling into catastrophe. Millions of Afghans are now facing severe economic stress and food insecurity in the wake of the Taliban’s August takeover, set off by widespread lost income, cash shortages, and rising food costs. Officials with the UN […]

Climate Crisis

Top 5 Health Dangers of Climate Emergency that are far more Pressing than Covid Pandemic (- 230 Top Medical Journals)

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Some 230 medical journals carried an editorial on Sunday, “Call for Emergency Action to Limit Global Temperature Increases, Restore Biodiversity, and Protect Health.” In my view, the editorial buried the lead by putting this sentence two-thirds of the way down and by not giving it its own paragraph: “Rises above […]

Afghanistan

Perfect Storm: Hunger stalks 14 mn Afghans, 2 mn Children, from Taliban, War, climate-driven Drought, and Covid

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) announced a few days ago that 14 million people in Afghanistan are at risk of acute food insecurity in a matter of weeks. That is about a third of the population. It is up from 11 million last spring, when the WFP and […]

Food Security

40% of the World’s People, 3 billion Souls, cannot Afford a Healthy Diet

The Conversation

By William A. Masters and Anna Herforth | – ( The Conversation ) – The COVID-19 pandemic has caused price spikes for corn, milk, beans and other commodities, but even before the pandemic about 3 billion people could not afford even the cheapest options for a healthy diet. Recent analysis of global food price data […]

Displaced and Refugees

Yemenis face Famine of the Century and Mass Starvation unless President Biden pressures Saudis to Stop Port Blockade

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The head of the UN World Food Program, David Beasley said at a news conference this week covered by al-`Arabi al-Jadid (The New Arab) that five million out of 28 million Yemenis are in severe danger of starvation and 16 million are food-insecure. Food insecurity is a state of being […]