According to a study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Syrian conflict that began in 2011 was fomented in part by a record-breaking five-year drought beginning in 2006. The economic changes resulting from this drought—encompassing increased food prices and internal migration away from farmland into cities—combined with other social factors to create war.
This is not an isolated problem. Droughts, floods, massive storms, and other once-extreme weather events will increase drastically in frequency as the climate changes. (That’s why the term “climate change” is preferred over “global warming.”) According to the FAO, the best tools to combat such unpredictable weather events are diverse, healthy, resilient ecosystems, such as those created by sustainable agriculture.
Unfortunately, research into genetically modified crop varieties tends to have a narrow focus. Perhaps it creates a strain of corn that is drought-resistant but not heat-resistant. Perhaps it responds to a vitamin A deficiency among a population by introducing vitamin-fortified rice, rather than laying the groundwork for a diet that includes foods other than rice. Or perhaps it relies heavily on synthetic fertilizers, which deplete soils and decrease crop production in the long term.
Hunger is not primarily a problem of food production; it is a problem of food distribution. As one medical ethicist put it,
“Hunger and malnutrition around the globe are the products of many factors, which include an inequitable distribution of wealth within and between nations, a lack of infrastructure to transport and distribute food to those who need it, civil wars, corrupt governments and financial policies that require poor nations to cut government spending on food for the poor. As long as these conditions exist, it is necessary to question whether and how transgenic [GMO] crops alone could alleviate hunger and malnutrition among the poor.”
Sustainable agriculture is a crucial component of the fight against climate change, hunger and malnutrition, and poverty worldwide. Strong local food systems are a powerful means of alleviating hunger and ensuring economic stability in the face of climate change.