800 million people live on less than 1200 calories a day now. Russia has stopped shipping out

[flying_wahini]

It’s wheat for export since the conflict started just weeks ago.



“The situation is in many ways bordering on catastrophic, and without substantial and immediate assistance, it will get worse,” said Eric Muñoz, senior policy advisor for agriculture at Oxfam, the Nairobi-based charity. “There’s no better wake-up call than the current moment, with sky-high food prices and skyrocketing hunger, to have a serious conversation about rethinking global food systems.”


[link:https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2022/03/23/war-fueled-global-hunger-catastrophe-on-the-way-with-solutions-tough-to-come-by/?sh=490546c753df|



⅓ of current world wheat supplies comes from Ukraine and Russia.
It’s planting season in Ukraine this week so their contribution will be nil. American farmers have had to contend with extreme droughts and even if they could plant more, fertilizer and gasoline are very expensive.
It’s not beyond reason to say that when this wheat is gone (90 days) as Unami of hunger/famine is coming.

[UpInArms]

1. US farmers could cut back on the soy beans and corn

Winter Wheat is a second crop for soy beans, but few take advantage of that (near me anyway)

[NickB79]

2. Might be hard to get the seed, fertilizer and equipment to switch so late

Different crops require different equipment to plant, cultivate and harvest. A lot of farmers buy their seed and fertilizer tailored for their particular crops in the fall.

Plus, with fertilizer being at record prices, a lot more soy will go in because soybeans pull their own nitrogen from the air.

[womanofthehills]

6. Russia and Belarus are the second & third suppliers of potash for fertilizers

So many farmers think they will have to grow with less fertilizer than usual.

[NickB79]

9. Yep. And ammonia fertilizer is made from natural gas

Also in short supply

[roamer65]

10. 75-80 percent of wheat in North America is winter wheat.

This years crop was planted last fall.

The soonest we would see any appreciable increase in wheat harvest is next years crop in July 2023.

During WW1, there was a campaign to emphasize eating more cornbread. Not a bad idea. We can have a larger corn crop this fall if we need it, as corn planting is yet to happen.

It’s all Putler’s fault.

[634-5789]

12. Acreage is pretty much spoken for already, (here in Illinois at least)

[NickB79]

3. And in America, 75% of us are overweight, eating far more calories than we need

The world is a crazy place.

[Coventina]

4. I know that it is not likely to hit us terribly hard in the US.

But I am more than willing to tighten my belt if it aids in bringing down Putin.

[milestogo]

5. Its hitting hard in Africa

and they have a lot of food insecure people to begin with.

[crickets]

7. Yep. The scope of the misery Putin has unleashed is horrifying. nt

[flying_wahini]

8. Not only is mass starvation a travesty in this abundant world but the irony of

Watching cities starve on the nightly news when we are a plane ride away from being where
those people are is really unnerving.
With all the global warming cranking up this is going to be stressful next few years.
I am so glad that Biden is our President.

[usajumpedtheshark]

11. I'm old enough to remember when Russia had to import 20 to 40 million tons of grain