Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Malthus Redux -- The Global Food Crisis

Another must read post from Abu Muqawama:

The global food crisis is perhaps the least reported big event of the year. It stands to kill far more people than the cyclone in Myanmar or the earthquake in China. First it will kill through starvation, and then through the conflict over resources that it spawns. At a conference of experts that Kip observed on Afghanistan several weeks ago, all agreed that rising food prices were the single thing capable of throwing the country into utter and perhaps unrecoverable chaos. The same might be true of nuclear-armed Pakistan as well, not to mention several dozen other weak or failing states.

Read more ....

My Comment: His analysis on the impact that rising food prices have in fermenting conflicts and eventually wars is on the mark. Hunger rarely starts wars right away, instead it just prepares the groundwork for turmoil and conflicts to arise.

Previous Post: The Price Of Food, The Cost Of Despair

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