Longterm & Lasting Metastatic Sequelae
August 6th 2020
The events of 2020 have created serious food pressures in many parts of the globe.
The pandemic has disrupted farming, processing, and distribution of food, meaning that maybe crops have rotted in the field or in warehouses, uneaten.
Freak weather events have likely been exacerbated by the sudden global cessation of air travel earlier this year. The heat domes in the US and Europe, and the once-in-a-generation floods in China and Yemen, have ruined millions of hectares of crops.
Once-in-a-generation locust swarms have swept through vast areas of eastern Africa, central Asia, all the way to China, destroying crops in their path.
Meanwhile, we are experiencing a particularly low, record-setting solar minimum, meaning that there is less solar energy for crops to absorb.
Nations such as Lebanon were already heading for an imminent famine. Their primary grain supplies, which were already critical, were wrecked due to corrupt negligence. With the port flattened, imports and relief for the 7 million people living there will be exceptionally difficult to coordinate.
Lebanon's challenges will make it the first casualty in a domino effect that will flow through the Levant and into Africa and the broader Middle East, further destabilizing many regimes already wavering from catastrophic economic and social challenges.
We are likely to see an outbreak of conflict as regimes seek to externalize anger to avoid a repeat of the Arab Spring uprisings, which were significantly connected with food prices.
Due to the lag in time between harvest, processing, and distribution, the food crisis globally is likely to get significantly worse over the coming 24 months.
The issue is less to do with lack of starches, than a shortfall of micronutrients.
The more self-sufficient with critical resources we can be, both as individuals and as nations, the more that we can insulate ourselves from global tail risks.
Try to grow a little patch of spinach, alfalfa, and potatoes if you can, and perhaps raise a few chickens. Set aside (only) a modest amount extra of non-perishables each grocery trip.
The more that we can reduce food pressures for our own families in these times, the more that we can help everyone on this planet also by extension.