Devry Boughner Vorwerk, member of the Advisor board and CEO of DevryBV Sustainable Strategies: “The Russian invasion of Ukraine is creating a ripple effect on global supply and demand of commodities and food items. Even before the invasion, food price indexes were on the rise, indicating a stressed global food system. Along with heightened demand and supply chain disruption from the pandemic, a significant reason for the stress is owing to increased energy prices that have contributed to high fertilizer prices, elevating the cost of production and limiting availability for farmers, especially smallholder farmers. Reduced access to fertilizers is one of the factors contributing to the latest estimates on South American production. For example, the USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Report (WASDE) issued on March 9 denotes an expected drop in production of soy in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay for this crop year. Adding to the stress in the system is the reaction of governments worldwide to…”