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How the world can avoid millions going hungry when supply chains collapse

Phys · 🇺🇦 public Ukraine · · 792 words · By Jasper Verschuur; Paul Behrens
Food Security Geopolitical Instability Sustainable Agriculture Energy Transition
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What to know about Food Security

The article discusses the vulnerability of global food systems to geopolitical conflicts and supply chain disruptions, specifically citing tensions in the Middle East. It proposes four strategies for increasing resilience: transitioning to green ammonia, increasing national food stockpiles, shifting diets toward plant proteins, and electrifying transport to free up agricultural land.

Propaganda risk 20%
Claims checked 11
Techniques found 2
Topics 4

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center89%
Right11%

9 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

How the world can avoid millions going hungry when supply chains collapse Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor Millions more people will face hunger in the coming months if the conflict in the Middle East is not resolved soon, the UN has…

Why it matters

The price of energy, which instantly affects the cost of producing and transporting food, has risen sharply due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Common ground

The price of fertilizer, much of it made in the Gulf states and exported via the same stretch of water, has also soared.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Fear: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

The article discusses the vulnerability of global food systems to geopolitical conflicts and supply chain disruptions, specifically citing tensions in the Middle East. It proposes four strategies for increasing resilience: transitioning to green ammonia, increasing national food stockpiles, shifting diets toward plant proteins, and electrifying transport to free up agricultural land.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-world-millions-hungry-chains-collapse.html

analyticsAnalysis

20%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 60% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Appeal to Fear 70% confidence
Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified By Reference 2
schedule Pending 1
info Single Source 1
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Claim 1: “The price of energy... has risen sharply due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including a Wikipedia entry regarding a 2026 crisis and news-style articles, state that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has led to rising oil and gasoline prices.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime choke point for world energy trade, has been largely blocked by Iran since 28 February 2026, when the United States and Israel launched …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Strait_of_Hormuz_crisis
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Rising oil and gasoline prices have been the center of attention since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But that immediate effect tells only part of the story.
https://www.gatech.edu/news/2026/04/03/why-strait-hormuz-mor…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The risk of the Strait of Hormuz being closed is not new. During the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, both countries attacked oil tankers trying to pass through the Gulf, and the United States had to send …
https://www.faf.ae/home/2026/3/13/when-the-world-runs-out-of…
help
Claim 2: “in the UK, biofuel powers less than 7% of the country's transport needs”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the percentage of UK transport powered by biofuels.
schedule
Claim 3: “previous global spikes in food prices (in 2007, 2010 and 2022) did not lead to significant changes.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 4: “Ammonia is a key ingredient in nitrogen-based fertilizer.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and fertilizer guides confirm that ammonia is the result of nitrogen fixation and is the primary component/form of nitrogen in nitrogen-based fertilizers.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular dinitrogen is converted into ammonia. It occurs both biologically and abiologically in chemical industries. Biological nitrogen fixation or d…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_fixation
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Ammoniacal nitrogen fertilizer refers to any fertilizer whose main nitrogen component is supplied in the ammonium (NH4+) form. This distinguishes them from purely nitrate-based fertilizers, where the …
https://farmonaut.com/blogs/ammoniacal-nitrogen-ammonium-nit…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Ammonium, labeled as "ammoniacal nitrogen" on fertilizer labels, is a readily available form of nitrogen. While ammonium is water-soluble, it readily attaches to organic matter particles, which helps …
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/understanding-the-forms-of-nit…
help
Claim 5: “the crops used to produce these fuels (such as corn and rapeseed) now occupy an area at least the size of Italy.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny the land area used for biofuel crops relative to the size of Italy.
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Claim 6: “the cost of food around the world will increase, just as it did after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 (both countries were big exporters of food and fertilizer).”
CORROBORATED
AP News and statements from President Biden confirm that Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of food/wheat and that the 2022 invasion caused global food price hikes and shortages.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A Russia-installed official in southern Ukraine has confirmed that grain from last year’s harvest there is being sent to buyers in Russia, according to a report Monday by Russia’s Tass state news agen…
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-moscow-black-sea-5…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — President Biden warned that the Russian invasion of Ukraine will likely cause food shortages in some parts of the world because both countries are major exporters of wheat, in remarks to reporters in …
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/biden-warns-of-food-shor…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Russia—Ukraine war has exacerbated an energy crisis that directly affects the costs of heating, cooling, lighting and mobility and indirectly pushed up the costs of other goods and services throug…
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/energy/russia-ukraine-war-has…
info
Claim 7: “Some places (Sweden, China and India, for example) take a longer-term approach [to stocking food].”
SINGLE SOURCE
Evidence confirms Sweden is stockpiling food. However, the evidence for China and India in the provided snippets is either irrelevant (drone delivery) or missing, meaning the claim as a group is not fully corroborated by the provided evidence.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Sweden is pushing ahead with plans to strengthen what it calls its 'total defence' strategy by stockpiling food for the first time since the Cold War as fears of a conflict with Russia loom.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/sweden-stockpiles-f…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The growth of the long-term food storage market in the United States is primarily driven by increasing consumer focus on preparedness, food security, and health consciousness. Rising disposable income…
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/united-states-long-term-food-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — China is living in the future, I didn't think I'd ever say this but we got a drone delivered lunch but it wasn't all smooth sailing so make sure to watch us ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCOXkBX_nhg
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Claim 8: “The first green ammonia plants are now being constructed in sunny places such as Chile, Morocco and Australia.”
CORROBORATED
The Ammonia Energy Association and Worley Limited confirm that green ammonia plants are being developed or constructed in Australia and Morocco. While Chile is not explicitly detailed in the snippets, the general trend and specific mentions of Australia and Morocco corroborate the claim's core.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Green ammonia pilot plants began operations in the UK and Japan, and new demonstration plants were announced in Australia, Denmark, Morocco, and the Netherlands (more, yet to be announced, are in deve…
https://ammoniaenergy.org/articles/green-ammonia-plants-comm…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Worley Limited, an Australian engineering professional services company, has commenced work on a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) for the construction of two major green ammonia projects in coopera…
https://en.yabiladi.com/articles/details/153445/australia-s-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Green ammonia is a carbon-neutral version of standard ammonia, created by combining nitrogen with green hydrogen. It replaces fossil fuel-based production to serve as a sustainable fertiliser, a zero-…
https://www.agbi.com/renewable-energy/2026/05/jordan-signs-1…
verified
Claim 9: “Plant proteins such as legumes (beans, lentils, peas) require much less fertilizer (they can even "create" their own fertilizer in their roots through nitrogen fixation).”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and agricultural sources confirm that legumes perform biological nitrogen fixation in their roots, reducing the need for external nitrogen fertilizer.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular dinitrogen is converted into ammonia. It occurs both biologically and abiologically in chemical industries. Biological nitrogen fixation or d…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_fixation
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Plant proteins such as legumes (beans, lentils, peas) require much less fertiliser (they can even “create” their own fertiliser in their roots through nitrogen fixation). Raw beans and pulses in pots.
https://theconversation.com/how-the-world-can-avoid-millions…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Additionally, some legumes, including lentils, chickpeas, cowpeas, grass peas, and lablab, are well suited to growing in hotter climates. In this document, we explore the potential of legumes in mitig…
https://www.globalbean.eu/publications/legumes-and-the-clima…
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Claim 10: “Millions more people will face hunger in the coming months if the conflict in the Middle East is not resolved soon, the UN has warned.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm that the UN (specifically the WFP) has warned that millions more (specifically up to 45 million) could face acute hunger if the Middle East conflict persists.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region which comprises the Middle East (also…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East_and_North_Africa
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of modern conflicts ensuing in the geographic and political region known as the Middle East. The "Middle East" is traditionally defined as the Fertile Crescent (Mesopotamia), Levant, an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_modern_conflicts_in_th…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Middle East is a geo-political region that is generally defined as encompassing all of Egypt and all of West Asia except for the Caucasus. It roughly corresponds with what was historically referre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 11: “The price of fertilizer, much of it made in the Gulf states and exported via the same stretch of water, has also soared.”
CORROBORATED
Evidence from Fortune and TheBoard.world confirms that fertilizer prices have soared due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, noting the disruption of supply chains from the Gulf states.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime choke point for world energy trade, has been largely blocked by Iran since 28 February 2026, when the United States and Israel launched …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Strait_of_Hormuz_crisis
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Geopolitical turmoil is driving fertilizer prices up 30%, forcing tough crop choices, former USDA chief economist Seth Meyer told Fortune. “A bad decision this year could be pretty costly.”
https://fortune.com/2026/03/12/fertilizer-prices-strait-of-h…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A Hormuz closure doesn't just spike gas prices — it destroys fertilizer supply chains. Trace every step from tanker to grocery bill with real numbers.
https://theboard.world/articles/energy/strait-hormuz-food-pr…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.