Global Food Shortages Impact Persecuted Christians
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Christen aid workers seek to expand food supplies amid concerns that global food shortages could increase Islamic terrorism and add to the misery of persecuted Christians.
Barnabas Fund, a Christian charity, told Worthy News it began coordinating the effort after the United Nations expressed concern about the “ongoing global food crisis.”
The U.N. called a lack of supplies “only the beginning” of worldwide food insecurity and resource conflict.
Earlier, a September 2021 report by the Institute for Security Studies warned that food insecurity leads to hunger and starvation and the “increased likelihood” of violence. “This would include Islamist terrorism and persecution of Christians,” Barnabas Fund explained.
Christians are already often unable to receive food aid or other necessities in areas ruled by Islamists or in predominantly Muslim refugee camps, Worthy News documented.
Additional food shortages would further impact many of the hundreds of millions of Christians facing hardship due to their faith, according to a Worthy News analysis.
MILLIONS SUFFER
Last year more than 340 million Christians lived in places where they experienced high levels of persecution and discrimination, said Christian rights monitor Open Doors.
Many of them live in impoverished nations and war zones where food supplies are already limited.
Annalisa Conte, a director of the U.N.’s World Food Programme, agreed that the global food crisis was likely to get worse. “Conflict and climate stresses are destroying lives, crops, and livelihoods, and undermining people’s ability to feed themselves,” Conte stressed in a recent assessment.
“Tragically, the climate crisis is set to be a catalyst for further conflict over competition for resources,” she added. “What we see now is only the beginning.”
Critics of the government and U.N. policies also say that strict measures such as lockdowns and import limitations related to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted supplies.
As the food crisis unfolds, Barnabas Fund U.K. said Christians in Britain are already involved in “filling up their food boxes in their homes and churches” as “help is possible.”
It added that through its website Barnabas Fund “is joining the fight against food insecurity, hunger and starvation” with targeted supplies and donations.
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