The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its ripple effects are not just a global energy and economic shock. As Yvette Cooper, Britain’s foreign secretary, said in May: ‘The world is sleepwalking into a global food crisis. We cannot risk tens of millions of people going hungry because one country has hijacked an international shipping lane.’
The fifth food mega-shock in 20 years? How to stop these crises for good
Blockages of fuel and fertilizer in the Strait of Hormuz are set to push tens of millions more into acute hunger. Yet the international community is ignoring the recurring challenge of food security, writes Arif Husain.
The World Today
Published 15 June 2026
Updated 17 June 2026 — 4 minute READ
Image — Chinese dockers unload sacks of fertilizer from a cargo ship in Yantai Port, in Shandong Province. Photo: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images.
