Climate Change, Warfare, and Food Insecurity: When Agricultural Innovation Isn’t Enough

BY MYLA TOLIVER

As Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director of the Food and Agriculture Association, once argued, “there is no food security without peace, and no peace without food security,” especially not with climate change.¹ Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, the cost of human commercial activities on the environment has been so extreme that it has often been termed the “introduction” of climate change.² From a statistical standpoint, the ‘change’ has been egregious, with the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide soaring from a consistent 180-280 ppm (parts per million) before the revolution to 409.8 ppm now, the highest concentration in over 800,000 years.² Such a transition has been the most prominent contributor to temperature increases, which have proven to have startling effects on the environment and people.

 Of significant concern are the direct effects of global warming on food accessibility, safety, and sustainability. Temperature changes have been shown to push crops beyond their tolerance limits, increase chances of bacterial contamination, and reduce access to quality water sources.^3,4 Additionally, the natural disasters intensified by climate change —such as droughts and flooding —often altogether eradicate acres of agricultural land, pushing those people on the edge of food insecurity to new levels of deprivation.⁴ Worryingly, a meta-analysis has shown that these temperature developments most negatively impact impoverished countries, because they usually are located in regions with more extreme temperatures or their economies are significantly dependent on agricultural production.⁵  

To combat this, scientists have developed seemingly implementable farming methods like crop rotations, increased crop variation, agroforestry, and water management systems.⁴  Although these methods have proven successful in many cases, many of these measures are not realistic to implement in times of warfare, as has been seen with the food insecurity ignited by warfare in Gaza.⁶ Therefore, new precautionary methods supported by the nation’s government or wider international health organizations need to be created to circumvent food accessibility issues that are too complex to be resolved by agricultural solutions alone. More importantly, these methods need to be cultivated in a way that promotes long-lasting self-sufficiency, increases accessibility to high-nutrient quality foods, and minimizes further environmental damage.

Food security requires a consistent and abundant food supply, but achieving this in periods of intense warfare is understandably complicated. In Gaza, for example, maintaining even a minimal level of food security has been difficult because Israel’s border transportation restrictions limit citizens’ access to reliable food producers and transporters.⁷ Given the complex factors that hinder food access, humanitarian organizations should prioritize reestablishing food systems that operate independently of foreign or domestic influences. By creating grassroots food systems that rely on the efforts of the local population, it may be possible to achieve long-term self-sufficiency that can endure fluctuations in governmental support.⁸ One promising approach to achieving this goal is to enhance initiatives that teach citizens how to cultivate food sustainably while optimizing production that provides supportive resources for their agricultural activities. The World Food Program’s Purchase for Progress and Food for Assets initiatives in the Congo are strong examples of the effectiveness of this approach. They provided tools, livestock, beehives, solar panels, food aid for workers, and educational resources to support agricultural production.^9,10 By combining these resources with the leadership of trusted community members, communities may be better equipped to maintain food production during uncertain times.

Ensuring a secure food system is vital, but food products must also meet the diverse nutritional needs of the population. The conflict in Gaza, for example, has diminished agricultural land, and climate change has made it harder to grow nutrient-rich crops, impacting vulnerable groups like pregnant mothers, young children, and the elderly.^11-13 Farmers can enhance crop resilience by diversifying heat-tolerant seed varieties, using cover crops, and composting to improve soil quality.¹⁴ Vertical farming can optimize space for growing nutrient-dense produce such as iron-rich leafy greens.¹⁵ Promoting high-protein crops like chickpeas, quinoa, and beans can provide reliable nutrition and reduce reliance on livestock, benefiting expectant mothers and lowering methane emissions from dairy.¹⁶

Developing agricultural methods that simultaneously engage community members, address the nutrient needs of the population, and protect the environment, can be an effective approach to reduce the risk of widespread hunger exacerbated by climate change and warfare. Innovation in these approaches will support the mission of providing basic necessities to optimize human health, even amidst the most dire times.

Myla Toliver is a first-year in Benjamin Franklin College.

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References

1. Climate Action Can Help Fight Hunger, Avoid Conflicts, Official Tells Security Council, Urging Greater Investment in Adaptation, Resilience, Clean Energy, https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15589.doc.htm (2024).
2. Ahmed, F., Ali, I., Kousar, S. & Ahmed, S. The environmental impact of industrialization and foreign direct investment: empirical evidence from Asia-Pacific region. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 29, 29778-29792 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17560-w
3. Lake, I. R. et al. A re-evaluation of the impact of temperature and climate change on foodborne illness. Epidemiology and Infection 137, 1538-1547 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268809002477
4. Mirzabaev, A. et al. Severe climate change risks to food security and nutrition. Climate Risk Management 39, 100473 (2023). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2022.100473
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6. Over 1.8 million in Gaza face extreme hunger, https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/10/1155836 (2024).
7. Konyndyk, J. & Marks, J. Untangling the Reality of Famine in Gaza. (Refugees International, 2024).
8. Bettencourt, A. Grassroots organizations are just as important as seed money for innovation, https://www.unhcr.org/innovation/grassroots-organizations-are-just-as-important-as-seed-money-for-innovation/ (2019).
9. Small Scale Farmers, https://www.wfpusa.org/programs/farming/ (2024).
10. Food For Assets, https://www.wfpusa.org/programs/food-for-assets/ (2024).
11. Lakhani, N. in The Guardian    (2024).
12. (ed United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) (United Nations, 2010).
13. Alnabih, A., Alnabeh, N.-A., Aljeesh, Y. & Aldabbour, B. Food insecurity and weight loss during wartime: a mixed-design study from the Gaza Strip. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition 43, 222 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41043-024-00700-6
14. Benitez-Alfonso, Y. et al. Enhancing climate change resilience in agricultural crops. Current Biology 33, R1246-R1261 (2023). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.10.028
15. Comstock, F. in Encyclopædia Brittanica    (Britannica, 2025).16 Leifer, S. Tips for eating more plant-based proteins, https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/tips-for-eating-more-plant-proteins (2023).