The world food programme and the u.N, a food and agriculture organization, say tens of millions more people are pushed into starvation in the coming months. Climate change, conditions droughts in east africa, an poor harvests potentially on the way in north america. The real threat is that if russia can use this as a weapon, it can say, oca, we're not going to export fertilizer any more. That would threaten food yields in the coming years. We shouldn't just think about this as a food supply crisis. It's because of the way that the world food system relies on a very small cluster of major exporters.
Russia is weaponizing food by blockading Ukraine’s grain exports and withholding its own until other countries come to Putin to ask for it.
This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Paul Mounsey, and hosted by Noel King.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
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