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https://theconversation.com/phosphorus-supply-is-increasingly-disrupted-we-are-sleepwalking-into-a-global-food-crisis-196538>
"Without phosphorus food cannot be produced, since all plants and animals need
it to grow. Put simply: if there is no phosphorus, there is no life. As such,
phosphorus-based fertilisers – it is the “P” in “NPK” fertiliser – have become
critical to the global food system.
Most phosphorus comes from non-renewable phosphate rock and it cannot be
synthesised artificially. All farmers therefore need access to it, but 85% of
the world’s remaining high-grade phosphate rock is concentrated in just five
countries (some of which are “geopolitically complex”): Morocco, China, Egypt,
Algeria and South Africa.
Seventy per cent is found in Morocco alone. This makes the global food system
extremely vulnerable to disruptions in the phosphorus supply that can lead to
sudden price spikes. For example, in 2008 the price of phosphate fertilisers
rocketed 800%.
At the same time, phosphorus use in food production is extremely inefficient,
from mine to farm to fork. It runs off agricultural land into rivers and lakes,
polluting water which in turn can kill fish and plants, and make water too
toxic to drink.
In the UK alone, less than half of the 174,000 tonnes of imported phosphate are
actually used productively to grow food, with similar phosphorus efficiencies
measured throughout the EU. Consequently, the planetary boundaries (the Earth’s
“safe space”) for the amount of phosphorus flow into water systems have long
been transgressed.
Unless we fundamentally transform the way we use phosphorus, any supply
disruption will cause a global food crisis since most countries are largely
dependent on imported fertilisers. Using phosphorus in a smarter way, including
using more recycled phosphorus, would also help already stressed rivers and
lakes."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
