© Centre for Systems SolutionsSlides of fictitious events from simulation videos shown to officials, food security experts and industry representatives at the 'Food Alert' event in Brussels on Feb. 1. A group of people came together last month to tackle the worst-case scenario for one of the best-fed regions in the world.
The combined forces of El Niño and La Niña have crippled Latin American soy output. Ukrainian and Russian grain farmers have gone to war. Indonesia has banned shipments of palm oil to Europe, while China is hungry for crops. The Mediterranean region is getting more like a desert.
The year is 2024. "Food shortage in Europe?
The only question is when, but they don't listen," says an unidentified voice in a video broadcast. The audience sits quietly — listening.
The dramatic collision of events, of course, hasn't yet come to pass. But
over two days in central Brussels last month, some 60 European Union and government officials, food security experts, industry representatives and a few journalists gathered to confront the possibility of something barely on the radar a few years ago: a full-blown food crisis.
Comment: Bearing in mind that there is sufficient evidence that a food crisis is upon us, and officials from across the planet have been warning the public of its approach for at least the last few years. Furthermore, there's also reason to believe that factions within the establishment have been actively working to ensure that the crisis is particularly dire; recall the spike in fires and explosions at energy and food suppliers.
And so, taken together, as revealed in the wargame, it's not a question of 'if' it's going to happen, but when; and what follows threatens to be unfathomably dire for anyone not prepared:
Comment: Looks like the deep breathing and conflict resolution courses didn't quite work as advertised!
Here's a clip of Sheldon Johnson on Rogan's podcast: