PD Editorial: Russian invasion puts world food supplies at risk

As if the war in Ukraine were not enough of a humanitarian crisis, the hostilities and global response threaten to cause widespread famine and other shortages.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres recently warned that a global food shortage “threatens to tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity followed by malnutrition, mass hunger, and famine.”

Preexisting inflationary pressures and cargo shipping gridlock contribute to that looming disaster. But the world cannot ignore what Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has wrought.

Ukraine normally exports 6% of all food calories traded in the international market. Most of it is grains and sunflower oil. In fact, the country produces more than half of all sunflower oil globally.

When Ukrainians took up arms to defend their country from Russian invaders, they left behind fields and silos full of crops. They cannot ship them abroad through Russian blockades. As a result, global agriculture commodities prices are up 30% year over year. The shortfalls could linger into next year as Ukraine is not turning over fields for the next season’s production.

The challenge isn’t just Ukrainian wheat and sunflower oil, though. Russia also is a major exporter of grains and other commodities. That has halted as the country diverts resources to support its invading troops. Sanctions against Russia have strangled off the rest.

For example, the country also is a top exporter of ingredients for fertilizers. Their sudden scarcity makes it harder and more expensive to produce fertilizers, and that in turn impacts crop growth in places that rely on soil augmentation. Russia also is a huge exporter of nickel, platinum and, as we’ve all learned, oil.

None of which is to say that sanctions are wrong. Russia’s aggression demanded a global response, and sanctions beat direct military conflict between nuclear powers.

But it’s important to recognize that just as the invasion of Ukraine had consequences, so do sanctions against Russia. It’s not just higher prices for gasoline, which were already increasing even before the invasion. Food and commodity prices are skyrocketing.

Even here in the North Bay, producers are beginning to feel the effects. While not one of Sonoma County’s biggest crops, local producers grow grains worth a few million dollars on more than 7,000 acres.

Global supply chains are wonderful during peacetime. They deliver food and other commodities where they are needed. But the world is now being reminded that interconnected production and distribution systems become a weakness when things go badly in the global community. British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps cautioned recently that famine could wind up killing more people globally than the war itself.

The moral imperative as the war and its rippling effects linger is to identify the impacts and work to alleviate them. America and its wealthy allies should strive to identify ways to ship any surplus grain or other goods to places with the greatest needs. Wealthy nations can weather price increases. Poorer nations cannot.

Meanwhile, individually all Americans can do better minimizing food waste. Memorial Day barbecues are the perfect place to start. Prepare only what the party needs and consume what is prepared. A half bratwurst bun thrown away is wheat that could have fed someone desperate in the face of shortages and skyrocketing grain prices.

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