Turkey Troubles, a Fishy Fix, and South Africa's Success

Top Story

Famine in Pakistan

Pakistan is facing one of the worst food crises in its history. High food prices, drought, and livestock diseases have left up to 16 percent of Pakistani citizens food insecure, with 4 million experiencing phase four famine conditions. FAO officials claim that recent floods damaged 4.5 million acres of crops, exacerbating the crisis.

Council Insights

Winter Is Coming

Are you a student living in Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa? This winter, we’re launching a listening project to amplify the stories of young people around the world – and we want to hear from you. Help us amplify and share your stories, and how you’re experiencing potential hardships this winter. Learn more about the project.

Food & Agriculture

Turkey Troubles

This Thanksgiving, turkeys will be harder to find and more expensive than ever. Turkey supplies have been tight since producers started to cut back after turkey prices crashed in 2019. Current inflation will also make the reduced supply of turkeys more expensive, as farmers and processors are paying much more for feed, field, and labor. As a result, consumers could be paying more than twice as much for a turkey as they did last year.

Wheat for Days

Many countries are facing wheat shortages, but the opposite is true in Zimbabwe. After decades of relying on imports to offset local production, the country is on the verge of its biggest wheat harvest in its history, allowing Zimbabwe to create a reserve that will cushion the country from future shocks. The country’s agricultural minister accredits the surplus to the empowerment of local farms by improving water supply infrastructure and distributing fertilizer to small-scale farmers.

South Africa’s Success

Despite daunting challenges to the agricultural sector—namely climate change, conflict, and COVID—South Africa’s farmers are thriving. The 2022 Global Food Security Index shows that South Africa is the most food secure country on the African content, and has made significant improvements in food availability, quality, safety, and sustainability. Exporting food to almost every country in Africa, South African farmers are helping abate the global food crisis, but threats from agricultural subsidies could jeopardize their success.

Deeper Dive

Can Agricultural Subsidies Hurt Farmers?

Food subsidies have the potential to help consumers and farmers, but it can be a double-edged sword as subsidies can potentially be harmful to small farmers. By lowering prices for goods, subsidies can inadvertently encourage overproduction, thereby flooding the market with surplus crops sold below the cost of production and depressing global prices.

Data Crunch

EU Food Waste

According to a recent report from Eurostat, EU households wasted 154 pounds of food per person in 2020, with total food waste in the EU reaching 280 pounds per person. Household waste is responsible for 55 percent of total food waste in the EU, with the remaining 45 percent generated in other stages of the food supply chain. According to FAO, global food waste accounts for over 8 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.

Resilience

Fungal Fears

WHO published a report highlighting the first-ever list of fungal "priority pathogens," cataloging 19 pathogens that pose the most significant risk to public health. Fungal pathogens are becoming increasingly common and resistant to treatment, largely driven by the overuse of antifungals in agriculture. WHO hopes the list will drive further research and policy interventions to strengthen the global response to fungal infections and antifungal resistance.

Big Ideas

A Fishy Fix

To address the climate impact of food choices, many investors are funding plant-based meat substitutes. However, an unlikely fix for a warming planet has been sitting on supermarket shelves for two centuries: tinned fish. Tinned fish provide the highest amount of protein with the lowest carbon footprint. The product is also cheap, requires no energy for refrigeration, rarely spoils, and can be harvested sustainably, making it beneficial for consumers and the environment.

DC Report