In the years leading up to 2020, governments were repeatedly warned that a global pandemic was likely. Yet when COVID-19 struck, the world was largely unprepared.
Moreover, the pandemic had side effects and exacerbated other problems in ways that were poorly anticipated. For example, in Africa and the Middle East, illness and lockdowns occurred just as massive locust swarms were decimating crops, resulting in even greater food insecurity for tens of millions of people. Even in North America and Europe, where there was no risk of food shortages, people stocked up on so much food that supermarkets ran out of many staples.
As tragic as COVID-19 has been, the risk of even greater catastrophes in the coming decades is quite high, and food shortages caused by these catastrophes would be deadly.
If food production and distribution were disrupted, there are currently no alternatives, no back-up plans to ensure survivors can still access the nutrition they need. If a catastrophe occurs that is large enough to reduce food production by 5% or more, then loss of food will likely kill far more people than the catastrophe itself directly.
The ALLFED mission is to help create resilience to global food shocks.
We seek to provide practical, affordable, and resilient food solutions so that, in the event of a global catastrophe, governments, industry, and communities can respond quickly and distribute food equitably, saving lives and promoting the continuation of global cooperation.
