Food Price Spikes and the Arab Spring [View all]
https://www.historytools.org/stories/the-worst-commodity-price-shocks-in-history-lessons-from-the-past-warnings-for-the-future
[In 2010-2011, a spike in food prices helped catalyze the wave of unrest known as the Arab Spring. After droughts damaged harvests in major exporting countries like Russia and Australia, the price of staples like wheat, corn, and soybeans shot up 40-70% in a matter of months. In Egypt, the worlds largest wheat importer, bread prices doubled.
The soaring cost of food, combined with high unemployment and political repression, sparked protests that toppled autocratic regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. While experts debate the precise role of food prices versus other grievances, the crisis underscored the explosive potential of commodity shocks in the developing world, where food consumes a large share of household budgets.
It also revealed the dangerous feedback loops between climate disruption and political instability. Many of the weather events behind the food price spike, like the Russian heat wave and Australian floods, were made more likely by climate change. In turn, countries destabilized by soaring food costs became breeding grounds for terrorism, failed states, and mass migration.}
I see the stars lining up again. With the weather changes, soaring food prices and political repression all playing a role in the future of the world and US economy. Will bitcoin bubble burst?
Now, how do I take advantage of it? What would the best bets be? Invest in food, energy or metals? Shorting bitcoins or betting against repressive governments?