Fertilizers and the Food Crisis


If a picture is worth a thousand words, a good map like this one must be worth at least 10,000.

Fertilizer prices are up by 3 – 5 times; fertilizer use has also skyrocketed; meanwhile runoff from the fertilizer kills our oceans and rivers, forming “dead zones.”  The food crisis ends up not being about food shortage – it’s about the high prices of food, and the drivers behind those prices.  Isn’t it ironic that fertilizers, which aim originally at addressing increased food production, have contributed to this very crisis we’re now faced with? 
ps – special thanks to Leo S. for bringing this graphic to my attention!