Lack of Food Is Causing Unrest Watchman Report 14-70

Jer 44:13  For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence:

Jer 44:18  But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.

Jer 44:27  Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.

Eze 5:12  A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.

Eze 5:16  When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:

Eze 5:17  So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.

Eze 6:12  He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them.

Am 8:11  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

Re 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

The earth is literally shaking as earthquakes are dramatically increasing across the globe. 

But it’s not just the earth that is rumbling; nations are increasingly experiencing the writhing discomfort of political upheaval and the common denominator is—food.

The complex system of the global food supply is the key that opens the exits as well as the entrance doors for political regimes around the world.

Food shortages spark the fires of protest such the one that resulted in the ouster of Tunisia’s President, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and eventually spread like wildfire to Egypt, Libya and Yemen in 2011, and now seem to be engulfing a new list of nations that were predicted by complex systems theorist, Yaneer Bar-Yam of New England Complex Systems Institute, as vulnerable to revolution due to rising food prices.

Brian Merchant reported that  Bar-Yam charted the rise in the FAO food price index—a measure the UN uses to map the cost of food over time and found that whenever it rose above 210, riots broke out worldwide.  It happened in 2008 after the economic collapse and again in 2011, when a Tunisian street vendor who could no longer feed his family set himself on fire in protest.”

Bar-Yam’s list of nations deemed destined to riots and unrest due to food shortages were

South Africa; Haiti; Argentina; Egypt; Tunisia; Brazil; Turkey; Colombia; Libya; Sweden; India; China; Bulgaria; Chile; Syria; Thailand; Bangladesh; Bahrain; Ukraine; Venezuela; Bosnia.

We have already seen the Arab Spring countries experience riot and overthrow, but now we see mounting turmoil in the other nations on the list.

“There are certainly many other factors fueling mass protests, but hunger---or the desperation caused by its looming specter—is often the tipping point.  …Venezuela—where students have taken to the streets and protests have left citizens dead—food prices at a staggering 18-year high,” says Merchant.

But it’s not just food shortages that promote unrest. 

Factors which affect food at its source serve as a volatile contender in the ring of political jousting.

In Thailand, amid anti-government protests, the lamenting voice of the farmer can be heard.  According to Orthai Sriring and Amy Sawitta Lefevre, “…the Election Commission approved a 712 million Baht ($21.87 million) fund to be drawn from the central budget for rice farmers, many of whom have been waiting for payment and some of whom have committed suicide in desperation.”

“But the sum is a small fraction of the estimated 130 billion baht her [Prime Minister Yingluch Shinawatra] government needs to pay to nearly a million farmers.”

“If we don’t get our money this week, we’ll return to remind the prime minister about it,” said one of the farmers’ leaders after they protested outside an air force base where Yingluck was holding a cabinet meeting.

Americans are used to hearing about food shortages abroad, but what about here, at home?

The following excerpt from a recent Prophecy News Watch article gives a glimpsing view of upcoming trouble. 

“The state of California, which produces the most vegetables in the U.S, is going through its worst drought ever, with 91.6% of the state experiencing severe to exceptional drought. 2013 was its worst year ever and there has been no improvement so far in 2014. According to CNBC, it is being projected that California farmers are going to let half a million acres of farmland sit idle this year because of the crippling drought. Much of the western U.S. has been exceedingly dry for an extended period of time, and this is hurting huge numbers of farmers and ranchers all the way from Texas to the west coast.”  Read more here

Food production woes coupled with the American farmers’ tremendous dependence on farm subsidies paid at “around $20 billion per year,” according to Wikipedia, from a budget of which is projected to be deficient of $514 billion in fiscal year 2014, the curious question has to be asked, “How long can Americans expect the fuel to remain protected from the spark?”