War in Ukraine: cascading impacts on global food supply

War in Ukraine: Cascading Impacts on Global Food Supply | GZERO World

Russia's war in Ukraine has created a perfect storm for global food security, Ertharin Cousin, former head of the UN World Food Programme, tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.

And it's not just that the prices of things like corn or wheat have doubled. Transport costs are up because gas is more expensive, while supplies of fertilizer are down for the same reason.

The food crisis is affecting not only those countries that import stuff from Russia and Ukraine but the entire world. Why? Because these are all global commodities.

What's more, the worst might be yet to come because agriculture is a seasonal business.

"We're not talking about a short term problem here," Cousin says. "This is a long, much longer term of potential food challenge."

Watch the GZERO World episode: A perfect storm of food insecurity: a problem for all of us

More from GZERO Media

Malawi soldiers part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) military mission for eastern Congo, wait for the ceremony to repatriate the two bodies of South African soldiers killed in the ongoing war between M23 rebels and the Congolese army in Goma, North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo February 20, 2024.
REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi

Fighters from the M23 rebel group in northeastern Congo have been targeting civilians in violation of a July ceasefire agreement, according to the Southern African Development Community, whose peacekeeping mandate was extended by a year on Wednesday.

Ari Winkleman

Donald Trump has promised a laundry list of things he will accomplish “on Day 1” in office. To name a few, he has vowed to immediately begin a mass deportation of immigrants, streamline the federal government, pardon Jan. 6 rioters, and roll back the Biden administration’s education and climate policies.

Ambassador Robert Wood of the US raises his hand to vote against the ceasefire resolution at the United Nations Security Council, on November 20, 2024.
Lev Radin/Sipa USA, via Reuters
- YouTube

Ukraine has launched US-made long-range missiles into Russia for the first time. Will this change the course of the war? How likely will Trump be able to carry out mass deportations when he's in office? Will there be political fallout from Hong Kong's decision to jail pro-democracy activists? Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.

A man rushes past members of security forces during clashes between gangs and security forces, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti November 11, 2024.
REUTERS/Marckinson Pierre

The UN Humanitarian Air Service is scheduled to restart flights to Haiti on Wednesday, a week after several planes attempting to land at Port-au-Prince airport came under small arms fire.