(Chris Parker, Headline USA) The baby formula shortage may just be the beginning as a growing number of world leaders in both the public and private sectors warn that we’re headed for a global food crisis in less than two months.
Both Gro Intelligence CEO Sara Menker and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of a dire grain shortage, concluding that the world only has about a 10-week supply left, reported Just the News.
Zelensky blamed Russia for blocking ports from exporting food products. However, Menker noted that the problem has been building for some time, adding that Russia “simply added fuel to a fire that was long burning.”
They also warned that once it starts, “data shows the food security challenges we face will last several years.”
This isn’t the first high-profile warning of a looming food shortage. Last month, Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., warned that the conflict could halt the exportation of 50 million metric tons of corn and wheat.
He also said it would be especially challenging for low-income nations, which “has the potential to lead to geopolitical disturbances, just as we saw in the Arab Spring in 2010.”
Last week, Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, hosted meetings with UN officials to discuss the growing food crisis. He warned that if Odessa ports don’t open immediately, “famines will be looming all over the world.”
World Food Progamme spokesperson Shaza Moghraby also told CBS News that, “The Ukrainian Black Sea ports are being choked, which in turn is disrupting the export of grains and agricultural inputs..this in turn is contributing to rising global food prices.”
The news comes at a time when the global supply chain has already been hindered by COVID-19 lockdowns. Scott also warned of the potential food shortages stemming from lockdowns and restrictions in July 2021.
Several US grocery store chains resorted to food rationing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The effects of the lockdowns and restrictions that ensued still linger and are now joined by the conflict in Ukraine and the looming monkeypox outbreak.
Meanwhile, a growing number of Americans lack faith in the US government to properly handle food shortages after it shipped large quantities of baby formula to illegal immigrants, despite a dire shortage in US grocery stores.