Ukraine War Threatens Food Supplies in Many Nations
International experts are warning that continued fighting in Ukraine is likely to cause major food shortages for large populations in Europe, Africa and Asia.
Russia continues to push its military campaign across Ukraine after invading the country on February 24.
Ukraine has been called the “breadbasket of the world” because it is the world’s fifth-largest wheat exporter. But Ukraine’s farming system has been disrupted as millions of people fight, flee or struggle to stay alive. Ports have been closed, preventing wheat and other important products from being exported worldwide. Wheat is widely used internationally to make bread, noodles and animal feed.
There are also worries that Russia could have its grain exports reduced by economic restrictions placed on Russia’s government by the West. Russia is another major food provider.
School food programs rely on USDA pandemic waivers
Nine out of every 10 schools are providing free meals to all students under USDA waivers that are an unexpected issue in congressional budget negotiations this week. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell opposes extending the waivers, issued to help schools cope with the pandemic, into the 2022-23 school year.
Bird flu toll leaps to 2.8 million chickens and turkeys
With new outbreaks in Iowa and Missouri, nearly 2.8 million birds — almost entirely chickens and turkeys — have died in one month due to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), the Agriculture Department said on Monday. The disease has been identified in 23 poultry farms and backyard flocks in a dozen states since Feb. 8.
Today’s Quick Hits
State fair cannabis: With cannabis a legal crop, the California State Fair will award prizes for plants with the highest concentration of terpenes, THC and CBD; critics say it is a wrongheaded contest. (LA Times)
Solar vs. land: Local governments in states such as California, Indiana, Maine, New York and Virginia have barred massive solar farms in a competition between clean energy and the preservation of wildlife and open space. (NBC News)
Conaway to lobby: Mike Conaway, who retired from Congress as House Agriculture chairman at the end of 2020, has registered to lobby for a cryptocurrency industry group. (Politico)
‘Strong’ U.S. plantings: With high commodity prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, U.S. farmers will likely increase spring wheat, corn and soybean plantings; even if other major exporting nations grow more grain, it would not offset loss of Black Sea production. (ING)
Brazil turns drier: The Amazon-Cerrado transition zone in Brazil is becoming hotter and drier, the result of deforestation and climate change, says a new study in the journal Scientific Reports. (Mongabay)
