We know drought brings food shortages, but social unrest?
The drought of Summer 2012 is set to reduce harvest from some of the top wheat and grain producers around the world. The question lingers, as the harvests start to come up short, will there be social unrest if the price of grain goes too high?
Not too long ago we saw the same pattern of drought, low harvest, and food cost spikes in 2008 and a smaller price spike in 2010. These food crises coincided with bread riots in Egypt, Haiti and Pakistan and the price spike in 2010 helped to fuel the fire for the Arab Spring.
Some see the same signs for unrest in this latest drought. As growing seasons become hotter and drier and the population continues to rise we are seeing more nations actively pursuing plans to deal with changes in climate variability, and how to curb price speculation.
