A country's food security is related to the country's long-term peace and stability, prosperity, and prosperity. As we all know, grain is the "great plan of the country", but the rise and fall of many dynasties in history are closely related to food security. Not only in ancient times, but also in Africa and the Middle East today, there are also problems with food security. Come to think of it, Kissinger said, "Whoever controls the grain controls the destiny of mankind." This sentence is still so harsh and true today. How important is food security to a country? How did the food problem in the Soviet Union come to the brink of disintegration?
When it comes to food security, this is no small matter. Food, as the most basic survival factor of a country, has been the top priority of national security since ancient times. There have been countless dynasties in history, and they are all related to food. You see, in the ancient agricultural society, once natural and man-made disasters occurred and grain production was reduced, the consequences were serious - the people were not able to make a living, social turmoil, and regime change, didn't they all come about like this?
Looking at modern times, despite the rapid development of science and technology, we seem to be living in an era of material abundance, but the problem of food security is still a big problem at the forefront of the world. The food crisis in Africa and the Middle East remains the focus of international attention today. Due to natural conditions and political turmoil in these areas, food production often fails to meet the basic needs of the people, and the famine disasters that break out from time to time are even more distressing.
When it comes to controlling food is controlling destiny, the United States is a living example. The three major grain merchants in the United States: ADM, Bunge, and Cargill, these major companies have almost monopolized the global grain commodity market, forming a huge grain industry chain from planting, purchasing to sales. This is not only a business act, but also a strategic layout. After all, whoever controls the food supply has the potential to influence the economic security and social stability of a country or even multiple countries.
Do you remember the USSR? The former superpower, precisely because of the food problem, is on the verge of disintegration. The Soviet Union existed for 74 years, but its food problem was never solved. The agrarian policy of the Soviet Union, which began in the time of Lenin, has been trying to increase agricultural production through various reforms. However, for a variety of reasons, these policies are often ineffective or even counterproductive.
After the October Revolution of 1917, Lenin was faced with the mess left over from the vast Russian empire, and the plight of agricultural production forced him to take a series of measures. In 1921, he introduced the New Economic Policy in an attempt to restore the post-war economy and to try to activate agricultural production through a degree of market freedom. But this policy was replaced by collectivization and nationalization during the Stalin period, and the result was often the destruction of the productive forces, rather than the upliftment.
After entering the Cold War, the problem of food security in the Soviet Union remained a long-standing problem. The irony of imagining a superpower with many satellites that relies on imports for its domestic food production is understandable. And the United States, through its strong grain export capabilities, indirectly controlled the economic lifeline of the Soviet Union. This is not only an economic contest, but also a means of international politics.
How did the food problem in the Soviet Union push forward the process of its disintegration step by step? From the point of view of agricultural production itself, the natural conditions of the USSR were not superior, the climate in most regions was very cold, the variety of crops was limited, and the growth cycle was short. The backwardness of agricultural technology, coupled with the failure of policy implementation, has made agricultural production inefficient for a long time.
Nor can political factors be ignored. The Soviet Union's agricultural policy, with its frequent changes, from collectivization to nationalization, and then to later attempts at market-oriented adjustment, made it difficult for agricultural infrastructure to obtain long-term stable investment and development. This, coupled with the government's lack of attention to agriculture, has led to a continued slump in food production.
Coupled with the influence of the international environment, especially the dominance of the United States in the global grain market, the control of global food prices through grain exports greatly weakened the economic autonomy of the Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union's foreign trade was hampered and it had to rely on imported grain, food insecurity at home became more apparent.
The internal contradictions of the USSR intensified when domestic economic problems were superimposed on international political pressures. The weakness of the economic base directly affected the stability of the Soviet government and the standard of living of the public, and ultimately promoted the reform of the political system.
You see, food security is not an isolated issue, it is closely linked to a country's political, economic, and international relations. The example of the Soviet Union is like a mirror that reflects the problems of the country's development. Although the challenges facing the world today are different from those of the Soviet Union, the importance of food security cannot be underestimated. How to maintain food security and ensure the long-term peace and stability of the country in the context of globalization is a problem that every country must face.
Through the food problem in the Soviet Union, it is not difficult to see that the rise and fall of a country is closely related to its food security. Food is not just about filling the stomach, it is related to a country's economic security, political stability and even international status.