Global Food and Energy Crisis

Food and energy are two of the most important and basic things humans need. Food is necessary to live, grow, and stay healthy. Energy runs our modern world, from the car you take to work, to the lights and heating you rely on during cold nights. 

We now face a global food and energy crisis. With 8 billion mouths to feed and the enormous amount of energy our world needs to run, this crisis is leading to vast and unforeseen consequences for the everyday lives of hundreds of thousands of people. 

The Global Energy Crisis

Energy comes in many forms. Electricity is the most common form, coming from natural gas, fossil fuels and now, even some sustainable sources such as hydro, solar and wind based power generators.

Our modern world requires massive amounts of consistent and cheap energy. It is essential to keep the world turning. From personal needs to global transportation, agriculture, and economy, it is indispensable.

The consequences are already cropping up, and causing severe price inflation. Basic services such as electricity and gas for lighting, heating, industry and electronic items have become harder to access for lower class citizens as prices shoot up. Additionally, as oil prices increase, transportation and production costs are on the rise, causing imported foods and luxury goods to become more expensive and harder to find.

In Kenya, energy prices were hit hard, during Covid and especially the Ukraine war. Beatrice Mwongela, a Kenyan World Food Program worker, has been interviewed and mentioned many worrying trends. During Covid, the price of petrol went from around 150 shillings to 180, and it only got worse over time. In 2022, there was a serious lack of availability with long queues around gas stations, a shortage largely caused by the Ukraine war. Beatrice stated that 

“On a weekly basis going to work, I would use 5000 shillings, about 50 dollars on petrol. Now I'm using 80 dollars”. 

Cooking oil, electricity and general services are more expensive, too, making even basic needs harder to meet. While heating costs are negligible as Kenya is warm year round, upkeep costs for important white goods such as fridges and washing have become much more expensive. These consequences will only serve to increase poverty in Kenya, and make life much harder for the more vulnerable parts of the population.

 In Europe, from July 2021 to July 2022, energy prices have increased by over 150 percent, on top of the 170 percent increase back in the 2021 covid energy shock. Poverty will rise as people become unable to consistently pay electricity and heating bills. In vulnerable populations, food and energy insecurity will become more severe, and more humanitarian aid may be needed. Western economies could face recession as fossil fuels needed in various critical sectors become inaccessible or detrimentally expensive.

 Jean Carrel, a Haitian UN worker is very worried about the health of the Haitian population with these energy price fluctuations. He says that rural Haitians mostly use more basic energy sources; such as coal and wood. Nevertheless, as electricity and petrol goes off the table for most, the prices of all energy forms have increased dramatically. To combat this, deforestation and mining operations are increased, which is also contributing to climate change. The lack of oil has sparked and escalated protests and gang conflicts around the country, further destabilizing and regressing development.

The cost of living has increased in the poverty-stricken country of Haiti, even for the most rural locals. Young men migrate to other countries to search for work, to try and adapt to the crises. Furthermore, some families have had to adapt in extreme and desperate ways. For Jean Carrel, making it through these tough times isn’t too bad. He reduces luxury spendings; less vacations, using the car less, going to restaurants less. For very many though, most of their spendings go to vital goods and services. 

As Jean Carrel stated, “I can get along by reducing unnecessary spendings. Other families have little to reduce. To have enough money for food and the basics they have to reduce medical care; drinking herbal teas instead of visiting hospitals, they remove their kids from schools, and even, in the worst cases, sell tools and equipment they use for their work”. While this may seem short sighted and terribly risky, it is the only option for many Haitian families suffering from this crisis.

This crisis has been caused by various factors. During Covid 19, energy demand decreased significantly. The economic recovery after the pandemic was extremely fast, causing a surge of sudden energy demand. Energy providing companies had difficulty keeping up, as most had reduced stores and production rates, which drove prices of fossil fuels to unprecedented heights.

Conflict, as always, is one of the largest factors. With the Ukraine war, oil and gas production from Russia - the number 1 global energy provider- have been cut off to most of the world with political tensions and sanctions closing trade. Other events such as the China - Australia coal dispute has led to a large strain on energy producers to keep up with Europe and North America's high energy demands.                                              

While ‘struggling’ with the current situation, energy companies, especially oil providers, are in fact making enormous profits off of high demand and low supply. Russia's oil profits have increased by 38 percent in this year compared to the last. They have made 337 billion dollars in 2022, even though they were supposed to be ‘squeezed’ by sanctions and oil trade blocks and restrictions from the U.S. and Europe. 

On the other hand, all it has done is remove cheaper oil from Russia, to more expensive, often ship transported oils from other sources. This has allowed global market prices to rise. Shell, one of the major oil companies, has profited nearly double in the first quarter of 2022 compared to 2021. Clearly, while customers may be suffering from painfully high prices, big energy providing companies are making big bucks.

The effects of the energy crisis seem very similar in both developed and more rural countries. In Belgium, Ostende, the elderly couple Pieter and Myriam Carbon have learned to endure the cold winter with less and less heating. Heating costs have risen by “over 3 times” , and electricity prices have risen dramatically, jumping after the Covid shock, then regressing just to spike once more with the Ukraine war. According to Peter, “There has been a 12 percent inflation rate over the last couple months'', something that once cost 100 euros now costs 112”. These new pressures have forced them to reduce their heating around the house from the normal 21 degrees to a much lower 15 degrees, and only in critical rooms.

In Vietnam, too, energy prices are much higher than normal. Young student Nhim Tran says she worries greatly about gas prices for her motorcycle, the main mode of transportation in the bustling city of Hanoi. During the beginning of the war, some gas stations even ran out of fuel, and lines of customers waiting to refill waited hours for largely inflated prices. It seems that when energy sources are hit, and prices increase, the effect is seen everywhere, and fluctuations are often very sudden. This is mostly due to the centralized system of our global energy supplies. When major oil and energy suppliers such as Russia and Ukraine are inaccessible, almost everybody is hit hard, and fast.

Global Food Crisis

Food shortages across the world have been inducing famines and developmental decay. In over 82 countries, a total of over 345 million people have reached food insecurity, and face hunger on a daily basis. This number is only getting higher. Local institutions and international humanitarian aid organizations are currently unable to keep up, and need support more than ever.

The global food crisis has been caused by the consequences of the energy crisis, fertilizer shortages, Covid aftershocks, political tensions and conflicts. Of course, worsening climates have caused droughts and congested rain, severely reducing food availability in rural-agricultural regions. While climate shocks are often random and unpredictable, the fact is that many communities are highly vulnerable due to being underdeveloped, or relying on imported goods and materials.

Beatrice Mwongela has stated that Maize, a staple food in Kenya, has become largely unavailable and very expensive. A large part of the population subsists on farming, but a long dry spell turned drought has caused serious food shortages. Beatrice said that “Normally when we don’t have enough Maize, we try to get it from the global market. The government recently stated that there is almost none to buy”. Maize prices have nearly doubled, and local produce fairs no better with withered harvests. To adapt, they have begun using genetically modified maize crops.

The economy is suffering, and imported goods are both more expensive and take longer to arrive, as transport ships are being filled with goods slower and slower. The Shilling has also become less valuable, from around 100 shillings to a dollar, to now 130. Living costs are up, and Beatrice, like many others has had to significantly reduce non-essential spendings. Organizations like WFP are donating significant amounts to keep families fed, and kids educated. Beatrice expects the general outlook to be less grim by next year, if rains come and farming can begin to refill the shortages. If not, she says we can expect a very tough time for all Kenyans, potentially for another couple years.

The Energy crisis has increased production and transportation costs for food and goods. Imported foods have become much more expensive, even in richer countries. This has only been worsened by the Covid-19 aftershocks. As oil prices rise, electricity costs rise, and things as simple as cooking and refrigerating food become costly. Every day needs become more draining, and food producers themselves have a harder time pumping out abundant products, and populations begin to struggle to make a living.

Another large issue is that as costs for natural gasses rise, fertilizer becomes more and more expensive to produce. Fertilizer is an essential part of growing crops, especially for large scale producers. Predictably, as Covid loosened its grip on the world, oil and gas demands rose dramatically. Prices for fertilizer rose over 300 percent, from 2020 to 2021. The continent of Africa is missing over 2 million metric tons of fertilizer, and food productions are taking big hits. Producers are forced to use less fertilizer, and risk worse yields, and pay through the roof. This of course results in less food availability, and much higher prices. Just because of the fertilizer shortage, food production in Africa may drop by up to 20 percent. More small-scale and day-to-day farmers may have their livelihoods destroyed, leading to more unemployment and developmental regression.

In countries like Vietnam, the population is affected much more lightly than in others. As rural, and agricultural countries they have plenty of capabilities to sustain their population with cheap, locally sourced food. In Vietnam, Nhim Tran says food availability continues to increase, even through the crises. Prices have been slightly more expensive, but largely alright. While the general cost of living has increased, stable and self-sufficient countries like Vietnam can wear out the Crises with reasonably little loss.

In Haiti, Jean Carrel states that food prices have increased by a significant amount, but availability is still high. The increase in price is likely due to the more expensive fertilizer and production costs, and the fact that a large amount, above 50 percent, of food is imported. This again links a large part of the Food Crisis to the Energy crisis, both of them amplifying the damage they cause.

Pouring petrol on the Flame

The Energy and Food crisis present a serious risk to many countries throughout the world; as prices rise and economies fall, not only vulnerable communities suffer. The true danger of this crisis however, is specifically on these vulnerable communities. While the consequences of these crises can be very harmful to the development and stability of our global community as a whole, it is debilitating to countries already suffering from their own predicaments. 

    In some countries, such as Vietnam and Belgium, things are relatively stable. While the crises have affected the populations in a variety of inconvenient and often rather painful ways, the countries are stable and self-sufficient enough to take the blows as they come, and recover without too much loss. Belgium’s citizens benefit from much of Western security and comforts, and while they take a blow to their wallet; only a small part of the population truly suffers, with Belgium's relatively low 8 percent poverty rate. In Vietnam, the poverty rate is a bit higher, but many households subsist on local agriculture, and are mostly able to provide for themselves with, again, small but hindering blows from the global crises.

In Kenya, Beatrice has talked about the years-long drought ravaging agriculture that many households rely on. Across the country, food insecurity is widespread as local production falters. The government would normally rely on global trade to fill in any gaps in food supply, but the increased shipping prices and reduced crop sources has continued to make this situation worse. With the global crises layering onto local issues, we can see a drastic fall in living standards and a rise in poverty and food insecurity, with little to slow it.

Demonstrators in Port-au-Prince protest over a doubling of fuel prices and demand that Haiti’s prime minister Ariel Henry step down

In Haiti, 60 percent of the country is controlled by gangs and criminal organizations. Instability and gross poverty leave many vulnerable, and these crises have come down on the population with little to stop them. The presence of these gangs makes it difficult for humanitarian aid organizations to step in and help. Once more the global crises compound into various problems and vulnerabilities in these less developed and risky countries, leading to considerable and widespread insecurity of vital needs and developmental regression.

Solving the Crisis

Covid 19 has inevitably been a large factor in intensifying the symptoms of large-scale poverty and lack of available food in many developing countries. The war in Ukraine has taken out a major producer of both energy and food production, further magnifying the damage of the Crisis.  Additionally, Climate change has been a large and unpredictable factor in destroying local food production. These global issues have further enforced local issues, and many endangered areas are at risk of famine and intense poverty.

The world governments will have to come together to solve various of these issues if we hope to see significant resolution of the crisis, and protection to guarantee it does not happen again. The effects of Covid 19 will wear off sooner or later, and energy prices will stabilize. Before that though, the war in Ukraine must be resolved as quickly as possible. The economic stress from one of the main food and energy sources being completely cut off has been devastating, and if the war were to escalate more, it's almost sure that the crisis will be insufficiently dealt with and not be resolved before many starve.

Of course, charity is important. Donating to humanitarian aid groups who specialize in sustaining and developing the countries affected by the crisis is helpful. In reality, though, the world also needs to treat the root causes of why something like this happened. We need to come together to slow and eventually stop climate change.  An increase in droughts, hurricanes, and just lack of consistent rains can be traced back to climate change. Resolving this crisis is yet another reason why we need to reduce it, among the fact that it will likely lead to our eventual demise.

 Relations between countries need to be secured, and effective measures against wars like the one in Ukraine need to be set in place. Additionally, we should consider spreading out central producers of food and energy, as the effects of having a critical country like Ukraine be cut off has shown to be drastic. Finally, more development and investment should be put into the affected countries, as their vulnerability is largely because of poverty and weak economy. Developing these populations to the point where they can reliably sustain themselves will be the most important step to stabilizing the crisis, and making sure that any recurrences cause significantly less harm. We can see things are already stabilizing as our economy and industry recover both from the Covid and Ukraine war, but as long as conflicts continue to happen and various countries remain unstable, we can expect that these crises will always pose a looming threat above all of us.

Report written by Remy Carbon.  October 2022 - April 2023