Opinion: Putin is starving millions of people around the world

Washington Post ^ | May 22, 2022 | Washington Post editorial board

[grundle]

Vladimir Putin’s atrocities are growing by the day. In addition to having the blood of Ukrainians on his hands from his completely unjustified war, the Russian leader is also responsible for the growing starvation of people around the world. Ukraine is the breadbasket for much of the Middle East and North Africa. Right now, Mr. Putin is preventing Ukrainian grain from leaving the port of Odessa and along other key Black Sea routes. The result is dire: Global food prices are at an all-time high, and 276 million people are food insecure — more than double the numbers from 2019.

Sri Lanka is the latest example of just how devastating Mr. Putin’s global food crisis is becoming. The island nation has nearly run out of food and fuel. People are lining up for days for what little is still available. As one desperate father told Reuters, “Without food, we are going to die.” As food prices have skyrocketed since Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Sri Lankans have not been able to afford the higher costs, and the government does not have enough money to help. The country just defaulted on its debt for the first time in its history.

Mr. Putin’s next moves will decide whether much of the developing world experiences mass hunger and even famine this year and next. World leaders are urging the Russian leader to at least allow grain shipments out of Ukraine to help feed tens of millions of people in countries that rely heavily on imported food — such as Sri Lanka, Burkina Faso, Yemen, Sudan, Lebanon, Tanzania, Uganda, Egypt, Tunisia and Cameroon.

[BobL]

I guess the fact that the West won’t let Russia export their wheat isn’t a factor here...

[packagingguy]

Wasn’t that Churchill who said that?

[poinq]

Wow, I hope people see through this crap. Ukraine is not the bread basket of the world. Food is everywhere. And if the US wanted to make more food there would be more food. We waste about as much food as we eat.

[Pollard]

How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apa­thy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live.

https://winstonchurchill.hillsdale.edu/churchill-on-islam/

I don't remember it being Churchill and the guy I read got way more colorful with description of 'the workings of the moslem mind' than Churchill. He did use the same phrase though. Not sure who was first with it.

[alloysteel]

It is not a matter of manufacturing food, it is in disrupting the supply chains so thoroughly that there are no viable alternatives.

What Putin is doing is much like the dog lying on the hay in the manger and snarling at the horses so they cannot eat, yet the hay has no food value for the dog at all.

[rbg81]

Does the WAPO say what the solution is? Because if the answer is war (between the US and Russia), pretty sure that will make things a lot, lot worse.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Cue the violins.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

I miss him.

[Rebelbase]

WaPo is proficient at publishing worthless opinions.

[Secret Agent Man]

Well when war also is where the food is, thats a real problem.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

When I crossed from Israel into Jordan...the difference was remarkable. Trash EVERYWHERE.

[rbg81]

WaPo is proficient at publishing worthless opinions.

---

Methinks they will urge that we ship all OUR food to Africa because.....White Privilege (can’t have that). Either that or take in as many hungry refugees as is possible. And if actual US citizens don’t like it, they can eat bugs.

[KC_Conspirator]

lolz, Sam is the first person who came to mind on this...

[CatHerd]

We’re in the same predicament. Dependent on China for essential goods like pharmaceuticals, PPE, etc. True, if we had the political wiil, we could manufacture these things ourselves, but the current regime does not, and it would take time to gear up.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2020/04/30/why-is-the-us-is-so-ridiculously-dependent-on-china/

But at least we can feed ourselves if we’re not too picky. It’s going to cost us more now, though, already is.

[KC_Conspirator]

So the cost of gas, food, and everything is now Putin's fault.

This is what happens when childish, incompetent, and bad people run the country.

[rusureitflies?]

BUNK! Can’t you guys ever get it right. USA THE EMPIRE OF LIES

[Roman_War_Criminal]

No he’s not.

Putin might be deranged, but he’s not starving people around the world. The real evil lies at the UN/WEF/CFR/EU.

[DannyTN]

"Can't grow food in those places? Or can't be bothered?"

Paging Sam Kinison.

[adorno]

Blame Biden, and Putin is just one of the followup dominoes.

If Biden hadn’t pushed the first domino, meaning the closing of the oil pipeline and had not stopped the drilling for new oil, then, the dominoes that came after would not have been toppled.

Biden is responsible for everything that has gone wrong in the U.S., and by extension, most of the current world problems.

[libertylover]

the Russian leader is also responsible for the growing starvation of people around the world.

No, you Washington Post dumbasses.