FOR a reminder that the world is in the grip of a food crisis, look no further than this year鈥檚 uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. Both were triggered in part by soaring prices, which are at an all-time high after extreme weather 鈥� especially last year鈥檚 heatwave in Russia 鈥� took its toll on agriculture.
Now the wheat crop in China, the world鈥檚 biggest producer, is threatened by drought. If the crop fails, prices will rise further as China imports wheat to make up the shortfall. A change in the weather might lead to lower prices later in the year, but any such respite will only be temporary as the weather becomes more unpredictable. As the saying goes: 鈥淐limate trains the boxer but weather throws the punches.鈥�
There are some simple measures, not least tackling the shocking levels of waste, that will make more food available in the short term. But that boxer is going to punch ever harder as the planet warms. That makes it essential to get started on ambitious technological fixes, such as upgrading the photosynthetic machinery in plants (see 鈥淎 blue-green revolution: Upgrading photosynthesis鈥�). Otherwise our food supply will struggle to get off the ropes.
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