World Has 10-Week Supply Of Wheat Remaining: 'This Is Seismic,' Expert Says

Large scale wheat harvest operation

Photo: Getty Images

A food insecurity expert gave a serious warning to the United Nations Security Council this week regarding the global food insecurity crisis, specifically the concerning limited amount of the world's wheat supply.

Sara Menker, CEO of Gro Intelligence, a global company that predicts food supply trends through public and private data, as well as artificial intelligence, told the confirmed that the global food security crisis has intensified amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, adding "fuel to a fire that was long burning."

"This isn’t cyclical. This is seismic," Menker said while addressing the food security conflict during a special meeting of the UN Security Council. "Even if the war were to end tomorrow, our food security problem isn’t going away anytime soon without concerted action."

Russia and Ukraine supplied a combined 1/3 of the world's wheat exports and were among the top-5 exporters of corn prior to their ongoing conflict, which began in February.

Menker said that the invasion, along with previous issues such as widespread fertilizer shortages, supply chain problems and record droughts, has limited the earth's current wheat supply to last about 10 weeks unless significant changes are made.

"Without aggressive global actions, we stand the risk of an extraordinary amount of human suffering and economic damage," Menker said.

Russia has claimed the 10,000-plus sanctions levied against it since the invasion of Ukraine have limited global exports.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied the claims, stating that "the decision to weaponize food is Moscow's and Moscow's alone," via FOX 5 DC.

"Sanctions aren’t blocking Black Sea ports, trapping ships filled with food, and destroying Ukrainian roads and railways; Russia is. Sanctions are not emptying Ukrainian grain silos and stealing Ukrainian farm equipment; Russia is," Blinken said.

Menker said the global food crisis can be linked to five main factors: lack of fertilizer; climate change leading to global drought conditions; cooking oil shortage; grain shortage; and supply chain/logistical bottlenecks.

"It’s a once-in-a-generation occurrence that can dramatically reshape the geopolitical era," Menker said. "We cannot solve food insecurity on a national scale anywhere. While the next few years will likely be difficult, we can coordinate a global response."

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his country would conduct military operations in Eastern Ukraine during an NBC News translation of a speech addressing the Russian population in Moscow on February 24.

The announcement appeared to serve as the final action ahead of an attack by Putin and the Russian military, which the U.S. and European allies to the neighboring Ukraine have attempted to prevent from taking place through diplomatic discussions.

A Ukraine interior minister confirmed to NBC News via text message that "cruise and ballistic missile strikes" were already underway shortly after Putin's announcement.

NBC News correspondent Erin McLaughlin said explosions could be heard from her live shot in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital city, at 6:00 a.m. local time.

More than 1,000 protesters were reportedly arrested during anti-war protests throughout Russia amid President Putin's announcement to conduct military operations and ensuing attack on Ukraine, BNO News reported.


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