Coronavirus brings looming global food crisis into 'uncharted territory'

(Image credit: NOAH SEELAM/AFP via Getty Images)

published 22 April 2020

The coronavirus will almost have long-lasting consequences that will extend beyond the pandemic itself, including a looming global food crisis, The New York Times reports.

So far, the world is not dealing with new food shortages, but lockdowns across the globe are stripping people of their incomes, and there could soon be disruptions in the agriculture sector and supply chain, which, in addition to a variety of other factors, could leave many poor countries vulnerable to hunger.

Even if food prices don't surge, countries like Iran, which rely heavily on oil revenues, or Venezuela, Sudan, and Zimbabwe, which were already severely strained before the virus, could still feel the effects. Arif Husain, the chief economist at the World Food Program, said the pandemic could push 130 million more people to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020, bringing the total number of people facing food shortages to 265 million.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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