Are We in the Early Stages of a Global Food Crisis?
So far, there are just some hints. Anecdotal evidence here and there. An unusually wet spring planting season for potatoes in America’s northwest led to a poor fall harvest. Where I live, America’s upper Midwest, a weak year for corn. In several parts of America, a much-reduced sugar beet harvest. World stocks of pigs down dramatically over the last few years due in large part to the spread of African Swine Fever, with China particularly hard hit. Canadian soybean yields down 9% since last year. Russian wheat output seems to have peaked in 2017. And on and on.
Okay, so I’m not an agricultural economist. Maybe shortfalls in one place are being made up by bumper crops in others. Perhaps news sources are selectively favoring bad news stories. If it bleeds, it leads.
If you spend a bit of time on YouTube, you’ll find a bunch of channels with posts about a coming food crisis. Many of them assign the blame for this to an upcoming Grand Solar Minimum that will allegedly cause a string of unusually bitter winters and short growing seasons. I have to admit that I’m a bit skeptical, none of them even try to explain why The Little Ice Age started before The Maunder Minimum.
That said, you won’t find much in the way of YT channels predicting increasing levels of food production.
Is 2019 an anomaly, or the start of a trend?
Pixabay (Michi-Nordlicht) image
(Posted to the Economics Community of beta.steemit.com)
I think we have to work out what they were eating in the Matrix.
Dear @preparedwombat
My strong belief is that developed and wealthy countries will find a way to take care of their own business. Poor countries will suffer the most as food will be most likely exported on massive scale.
Surely we're slowly entering difficult times. For many very difficult times ahead. So I would expect shortages of food. But not because of some Grand Solar Minimum, but mostly because entire world structure is breaking into pieces. And that will affect everything. Food chains will be surely affected too. Badly.
ps.
I've noticed that you're part of Economics community. Cool. Do you know each other with @spectrumecons?
Cheers
Piotr
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Welcome to the Economics Community.
Absolutely we are on the brink of a food crisis due to the grand solar minimum. Check out @iceagefarmer, @adapt2030 and @solarshutdown for info right here on steemit!
I’m quite skeptical. I’ve yet to see any GSM proponent explain why the Little Ice Age started before the Maunder Minimum. The arguments seem like pseudoscience. For instance, see https://climatefeedback.org/claimreview/yet-another-express-article-falsely-warns-of-a-solar-induced-ice-age-sean-martin/
I don't know what you mean, there have been several minimums over time.
Dear @preparedwombat
Several weeks ago I spoke to @solarwarrior (we had a chance to meet up during one of my trips) and he also seem to strongly believe that we will witness food shortages and drastic climat changes within years to come.
Very scary and sometimes I'm so glad that I do not have kids and I'm very mobile. Obviously some countries will do better and others will do worse during such a crisis. And being able to move my entire life is my best "defence system".
Yours
Piotr