Is a global food crisis looming?
4/20/202624 min
During the spring, farmers around the globe work to get the seeds and enough fertilizer in the ground to maintain the growing season. If that doesn't happen, food prices spike and farmers could face lower crop yields.
That is very much at risk of happening right now because of the Strait of Hormuz’s closure. About a third of the world’s seaborne fertilizer goes through the strait and prices have skyrocketed. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warns that this could lead to a global food catastrophe. Marcia Brown covers food and agriculture for Politico. She’s here to explain.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
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Marsha Brown· Guest0:04
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Speaker 00:05
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Speaker 20:30
[upbeat music] This is a CBC podcast.
Jamie Poisson· Host0:34
[upbeat music] Hey, everybody, I'm Jamie Poisson. I'm not sure what it feels like in your corner of the country, but despite the fact that it snowed briefly in Toronto on Sunday, it is actually spring. And that means that the clock is ticking down on something we all kind of take for granted, that every year farmers around the globe get the seeds in the ground and have enough fertilizer to maintain the growing season. Because if that doesn't happen, food prices spike across the board, and farmers who can't afford to pay could face lower crop yields and big hits to their bottom lines. And you know what the growing season doesn't care about, the reasons why the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. About a third of the world's seaborne fertilizer goes through the strait, and prices have skyrocketed since the closure. The United Nations warns