Why does warfare often lead to famine?

Warfare is the most common human cause of famine, acting as a devastating catalyst for food insecurity. Conflict triggers famine through several destructive mechanisms:12

• Direct Destruction: Combat often involves the intentional or incidental destruction of crops, livestock, and essential food supplies.12
• Distribution Disruption: War interferes with the movement of food through the strategic use of sieges and blockades. Furthermore, the destruction of transportation infrastructure and vehicles prevents the delivery of basic foodstuffs to those in need.1
• Supply-Chain Interference: Conflict can reduce global shipments of essential goods, such as grain, affecting countries far beyond the immediate zone of fighting.3
• Economic Impact: Warfare often leads to increased costs for fuel and fertilizer, which drives up food prices and reduces the purchasing power of vulnerable populations.3
• Tactical Starvation: Historically, armies have employed "scorched-earth" policies to deprive opposing forces of sustenance, a tactic that simultaneously starves the civilian populations dependent on that land.1

Ultimately, because nearly three-quarters of the world's food-insecure people live in politically unstable countries, finding peaceful resolutions to international conflicts is essential to preventing famine and ensuring global food security.3