[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 74 (Wednesday, May 4, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2298]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Food Security

  Mr. President, let me move to another topic, but it is directly 
related to what we just talked about: food security. Our work on the 
overall strategy, as it relates to the people of Ukraine and protecting 
democracy, is far from complete.
  The world has not yet felt the full effect--the full brunt--of the 
global effects of Mr. Putin's unprovoked, unlawful, and certainly 
unjustified war. While millions of Ukrainians have already become 
refugees, or internally displaced people, there are food shortages in 
more than one-third of the country. By the end of the year, tens of 
millions across the globe also will face immediate danger from hunger.
  So this is a crisis for the people of Ukraine on a whole host of 
fronts, obviously, but it is also a food security crisis for the world 
at the same time.
  The reason for that immediate danger that people face right now being 
unable to find the food that they need to survive is because of this 
invasion, as well as, obviously, the terrible impact the pandemic has 
had.
  As a breadbasket of the world, before the war, Ukraine fed over 400 
million people across the globe, and the greater Black Sea area 
exported more than 12 percent of the food calories that are traded 
worldwide. The war has cut off, cut off, these supplies while also 
raising fuel and transportation costs.
  There is less food to go around, and it costs more to get food to 
those who need it the most.
  This comes on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, as I mentioned, which 
increased hunger and complicated supply chains and climate change 
effects like severe droughts and floods.
  It also costs more to grow food, as Russia previously dominated the 
world's fertilizer markets. Today, both food and fertilizer prices have 
skyrocketed to higher than ever before, and the World Food Programme 
estimates that 878 million people across 92 countries of the world do 
not have adequate food on their table--878 million people.
  Over 276 million people now face acute food insecurity, meaning that 
they are in immediate danger of not being able to find their next meal. 
So they are the ones in the most trouble right now all across the 
world--276 million. It is not all the folks who are hungry and have a 
food security crisis but those who are in immediate danger.
  Due to Putin's horrific war, by the end of 2022, another 47 million 
people will likely face those same dangers--47 million people. That 
will mean that around the world, almost as many people as live in the 
entire United States will face immediate danger from hunger. Most of 
these people live outside of Ukraine in the Middle East, Africa, Latin 
America, where any further price shock may put entire communities at 
risk.
  I see the distinguished majority leader. Does he want me to suspend?
  I yield the floor.