First, Your Green Footprint would like to express a firm support towards Ukraine and its people. Our organisation condemns any abridgement of natural human rights, and prays that the conflict will find its term as soon as possible, in order to strictly limit the loss of souls, the destruction of an identity, and the violation of human integrity and morality.
On February 24th, 2022, the Kremlin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, one of its conterminous countries in Eastern Europe. This event marked a steep acceleration of the Russo-Ukrainian war which began in 2014, but never this conflict took such a crucial position on the international scene until presently. The invasion is the first major armed hostility to take place in Europe since the Second World War, and many are terrified at the idea of how damaging this war will be on an international scale. However, let us recentre ourselves on the environment: how is this political event relevant to the Earth’s health ? We’ll see how, by focusing on the global economic structure, our planet could count in the war’s total number of casualties.
© https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2274683/russias-war-in-ukraine-latest-developments
Before understanding the war’s environmental impact, let’s first understand why Ukraine holds such an important place in the farming landscape. This is simply because of geological reasons: the country’s soil is one of the richest in the world in terms of minerals, and the year-round conditions
offer an ideal environment for crop raising.
→ Map representing the meteorological conditions of Ukraine:
The country is the fifth biggest wheat exporter in the world, and is also considered as Europe’s breadbasket. However, its geographical situation always posed a threat to trade: being cornered next to the Russian giant and possessing only a limited access to sea, peace between east european countries was and still remains of critical importance. This is why the war is not a centred conflict, but an international crisis.
Let’s focus on a clear example: cereals. Wheat, oats, corn, barley, sunflower seeds, rapeseeds… – the list of Ukrainian agricultural productions could go on and on. Not only is the country quite independent food production-wise, it is also Europe’s first producer of many agricultural goods: the Union could not sustain the current rhythm of consumption without such a trustworthy and reliable source.
→ The Ukrainian flag (first created in 1848) was inspired from its endless wheat fields and clear blue skies
However, many obstacles are coming in the way of both exporters and importers. First, farmers cannot provide themselves with grains or fertilisers, so parts of their fields are empty. Individuals aren’t wealthy enough to buy all that is necessary, and the State cannot risk using money that could be spent on war necessities. Moving on to beneficiaries: since portuary cities such as Mariulpol and Odessa are being besieged by Russian forces, no trade activities have taken place, and, today, grains are rotting in containers ready to set sail.
Unfortunately, this situation is causing a major economic crisis: as 10% of Ukraine GDP is directly sourced from agriculture itself, we can easily imagine how damaging this event will be for its economy. This will also cause inflation across the world: as basic, everyday necessary goods become increasingly expensive, inflation will surely follow: the price of bread, flour, pasta and thousands of other products will sky-rocket till the situation is solved.
→ Grouping of graphs representing the price curbs of wheat, corn and soybean oil (three Ukraine productions)
Nevertheless, why and how does ecology suffer from this crisis ? To answer this question, let’s focus on oil. Oil, especially the tasteless and odourless ones such as soybean, sunflower seed and rapeseed oils are everywhere: cosmetic, culinary and food-processing industries employ them continuously.
However, as these products become more expensive day by day, businesses have to find an alternative, and the best one found yet is palm oil.
Our society is well aware of how nocive palm oil is for our planet, yet it remains the cheaper thus safer option for chip stands and giant cosmetic industries. Just like for cereals, importation from other countries – mostly Asian or African – will greatly pollute the oceans. These ressources, bought from developing countries, will also impoverish and slow down their blossoming.
So, is there no solution? Absolutely not! Here is a list of everything you can do to help the planet whilst still keeping your habits :
- First, check if you can’t change a product for another. Why not try a different wholegrain bread loaf instead of a baguette ?
- Always remember to check where your goods come from. Oil from Greece is better than one coming from Indonesia
- Stay away from palm oil ! Often hidden in a lot of products, take a look at their ingredients and try to opt for a greener option
- You can even maybe mix and match your habits: why not change a recipe using sunflower seed oil to one using olive oil ? Tastier, it’s a great way to discover new foods and products !
To conclude, the Russo-Ukrainian war is deeply bruising the planet, but there are many solutions to save it from the list of casualties! Don’t hesitate to share with us your fantastic ideas on how to minimise the conflict’s carbon debt, which will lighten the economic crisis’ impact on all of us.
Written in April/May 2022 © Your Green Footprint