War, Fertilizer & Food

Food Chain Radio Podcast with Michael Olson

Dr. Omanjana Goswami, Interdisciplinary Scientist, Food and Environment Program, Union of Concerned Scientists

Will there be enough fertilizer to feed our future?

We are living in a world at war. The world’s major powers are now standing in opposition to each other’s interests, and doing so with all the armaments of political and military warfare.

Though the hellfire of this war has not yet reached the United States, that does not mean the U.S. will go untouched. On the contrary.

One of the countries the United States stands in opposition to is Russia, which seems to be intent on rebuilding the former glory of the Soviet Union by recapturing territory the USSR once owned, including the breadbasket of the world, the Ukraine. And if Russia is successful in recapturing the Ukraine, why should it stop there?

Given this perceived threat, countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have stood up to say “No!” by sealing Russia off with embargoes and guns. Russia, in turn, is sealing off Europe by withdrawing its natural resources from the world’s marketplace.

Russia’s natural resources include hydrocarbon energy and minerals, two of the elements used to manufacture the fertilizers that fuel the world’s food chain.

This world at war leads us to ask…

Will there be enough fertilizer to feed our future?

(War, Russia, Ukraine, food, fertilizer, Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), natural gas, trade embargoes)