Newly planted rice saplings have been underwater since July after torrential rain battered northern India, with landslides and flash floods sweeping through the region.
Last month, India, which is the world’s largest exporter of rice, announced a ban on exporting non-basmati white rice in a bid to calm rising prices at home and ensure food security. India then followed with more restrictions on its rice exports, including a 20% duty on exports of parboiled rice.
The move has triggered fears of global food inflation, hurt the livelihoods of some farmers and prompted several rice-dependent countries to seek urgent exemptions from the ban.
I can completely understand why India has made the choice to ban rice exports, because they’ve got to put their first priority on keeping their own people fed. But it’s making the whole global food situation worse.
I keep having this sinking feeling we’re going to experience something like the Bronze Age Collapse - part of the reason all the Bronze Age societies collapsed so suddenly wasn’t just the Sea People, it was that they were all so interconnected trade-wise that when one society collapsed, all of them did because supply chain links snapped. I feel like climate change is our current-day “Sea People,” only so much worse.
We really ought to be strengthening our supply networks. And it’s really frustrating that we’re not.
We already saw a glimpse of what can happen under covid lockdown. And that was a controlled shutdown. What happens if the supply chain breaks unexpectedly?
We really ought to be strengthening our supply networks.
Not even that, producers and consumers need to stop being dependent on one crop.
stop being dependent on one crop
Could probably just translate that to
people need to stop being fat
Just a reminder that this is the result of the greenhouse gases emitted a generation ago, and that since we went from 355ppm to 420ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere. The war in Ukraine and global food shortage is a blip in what’s to come.
countries that import a lot of rice will be hit pretty hard by this - for example, China actually imports rice. yes, I was surprised by that as well. to the tune of over 5 million tons annually, that’s 10 billion pounds of rice per year. and that’s just one country - see the 2nd set of figures here to see how much Indian rice was imported into China in 2022.
the Philippines imports about half as much rice as China does. Iran, Iraq, and the UAE arent that far behind.
So a rough estimate of 1600 kcals per pound of rice, 10 billion pounds, assuming daily intake of 2000 kcals, that’s roughly the yearly calories of about 22 million people (assuming I didn’t fuck up somewhere). To put it in perspective.
Man, we are so utterly fucked. It’s so damn frustrating that this is still just the very beginning of extreme weather caused by climate change. 10-20 years from now is going to be pretty fucking bleak for much of the world.
I wonder, what will be the big event that will change the world pespective on climate change?
People are aware, but they are not really worried. I think is very difficult make a transition to a ecofriendly way of life, mostly because of the grow factor, if someone use less efecient production models, they will lose profit.
Anyway I hope we get really smart with solutions soon otherwise get used to the old feudal ways.
The law of unintended consequences. Do these farmers stop growing rice, banned export, and grow something else profitable. I’m guessing a government ban suggests price controls or curbs.
You can’t change your crops that quickly.
Also, rice is probably still plenty expensive enough.
I can’t live in a developsd country with prices going up. May be I should move to India? Has anyone ever been to india ? How is it?
Plenty of Indians would gladly trade places with you
I wouldn’t mind hey. I just googled best places to visit in India and Kashmir, Mizoram, Manipal looks dope af.
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