Chart Update, page-19954

I think people focussing on Chinese birth rate need to take a longer or broader view

‘Global human catastrophe’

In April last year, the United Nations World Food Program warned the UN Security Council that a “biblical famine” and a “global human catastrophe” lay ahead, if nations did not prepare and act to prevent them.

Yet despite these warnings at the highest levels, little has been done to address the potentially disastrous consequences of global food shortages and skyrocketing food prices.

In recent years global food production has been hit by a number of different factors.

Locust swarms in East Africa, India, China and elsewhere have severely impacted crop yields and new plantings.

African Swine Fever has impacted pork production in much of the world, most notably in China. As a result of the virus, tens of millions of pigs were destroyed, creating a “huge protein shortage”. According to experts, it could be years before China is able to sufficiently rebuild its pig herd.

And this is to just name a few.