A June 2009 report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that a historically high percentage of the world’s population is hungry. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that 642 million people in Asia and the Pacific are suffering from malnutrition. Another 265 million are undernourished in Sub-Saharan Africa (“UN: World hunger reaches 1 billion mark,” Associated Press, June 20, 2009). This is an 11 percent increase from last year.

The plight of the hungry is made worse by rising unemployment caused by the global economic downturn, and by the continuing high cost of food in third world countries. Soaring prices for basic staples such as rice and cooking oil caused riots around the globe in 2008.     The newly unemployed in crowded urban centers, unable to feed themselves, may have no choice but to leave the cities and return to their rural roots in search of food, further straining the resources of farming communities. With national stability at risk, leaders seeking food for their hungry populations might not leave neighboring countries in peace. These are some of the reasons why FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf could say, “The silent hunger crisis, affecting one-sixth of all of humanity, poses a serious risk for world peace and security.”

Hunger also affects the developed nations, where as many as 15 million are estimated to be undernourished, as economically stressed households turn to cheaper calorie-rich foods based on grains while their intake of protein from meat and dairy products—vital for growth in the young and the maintaining of adult health—is declining.

Last year, a Science Daily headline proclaimed, “Wheat Killer Detected in Iran: Dangerous Fungus on the Move from East Africa to the Middle East” (March 17, 2008). Researchers had found that a virulent wheat fungus, previously localized in East Africa and Yemen, had begun to spread to major wheat-growing regions in Iran, according to the FAO. This fungus can wreak havoc to wheat production by destroying entire fields. Its spores are carried long distances by the wind, and as a result have the potential to affect wheat production around the world. “The detection of the wheat rust fungus in Iran is very worrisome,” said Shivaji Pandey, Director of the FAO’s Plant Production and Protection Division.

Your Bible reveals where the global food crisis is leading mankind—both those who are already hungry, and the additional billions who will go hungry in just a few short years. The book of Revelation personifies famine and scarce, rationed food at the end of this age in the figure of the Third Horseman. “So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine’” (Revelation 6:5-6).

In the future, famine will grow so severe that in some nations the unthinkable will happen. “And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters” (Leviticus 26:27-29).

The efforts of human governments are no match for the scope of destruction humanity is bringing on itself by its rebellion against God. Secretary-General Diouf is urging nations around the world to help their small farmers obtain tools, seeds and fertilizers. But what steps should we take individually? For a deeper insight into what is coming, read our booklet, Who Controls the Weather? To learn what steps you can take to maintain and strengthen your physical wellbeing, read “Bible Principles of Health.” They can help you prepare for the difficult times ahead.

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