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Sustainability Implications of the Ukraine Conflict and Global Food Security: A Workshop

Completed

Regional focus

Global

Topics

On June 1, 2022, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Policy and Global Affairs Division, in collaboration with the Division on Earth and Life Studies and the Health and Medicine Division, organized a public workshop to discuss global food security challenges arising from the Ukraine conflict and possible approaches to address these challenges toward a sustainable future. A Proceedings of a Workshop-in Brief is available below.

Description

A planning committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will organize a one-day public workshop to discuss global food security challenges arising from the Ukraine conflict and possible approaches to address these challenges toward a sustainable future. Together, Russia and Ukraine account for 29 percent of global wheat exports, 80 percent of the world’s sunflower oil, and an estimated 40 percent of barley. Russia and Belarus are the two largest suppliers of fertilizers around the globe. An early assessment of global consumption of these commodities shows devastating compounding consequences for people and the environment in the short- and long-term. There are other global crises that could further complicate this issue, from severe droughts in the western U.S. to supply chain issues with global implications for the U.S. and vulnerable countries in Africa, South America, and the Middle East. The workshop will discuss short-term responses to the current crisis, opportunities for international collaborations, and how this crisis could impact U.S. national security interests in a changing climate. Discussions will include the connections among areas such as agricultural production, land use, energy, water, health, and biodiversity that are critical to promoting long term sustainability, as well as other compounding effects including, but not limited to, supply chains that are not yet fully recovered from COVID aftermaths, droughts, tornado, and hurricane seasons. A Proceedings of a Workshop--in Brief will be prepared by a designated rapporteur and distributed broadly.

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