Speaking in Belgium, President Joe Biden admitted that sanctions on Russia in response to the Ukraine-Russia conflict will create “real” food shortages in the United States and other European nations.
“With regard to food shortage, yes we did talk about food shortages, and it’s gonna be real,” Biden said during a press conference at a NATO summit in Belgium after meeting with other global elites.
“The price of the sanctions is not just imposed upon Russia,” he added. “It’s imposed upon an awful lot of countries as well, including European countries and our country as well.”
Biden on food shortages:
"With regard to food shortage…it's gonna be real." pic.twitter.com/F3dQ7NLqqB
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 24, 2022
“In addition to that, we talked about urging all the European countries, and everyone else, to end trade … limitations on sending food abroad,” Biden said. “And, so, we are in the process of working out with our European friends what it would take to help alleviate the concerns relative to the food shortages.”
Biden’s warning of food shortages in the U.S. appears to run contrarily with what his own administration previously claimed, as his own Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the White House was “not expecting a food shortage” just three days ago.
“While we’re not expecting a food shortage here at home, we do anticipate that higher energy, fertilizer, wheat, and corn prices could impact the price of growing and purchasing critical fuol [sic] supply — food supplies for countries around the world,” she said during a White House press briefing on March 21.
This comes as the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is predicting a worldwide “famine,” citing the Russian invasion of Ukraine as the cause.
“When the Ukraine conflict happened, the world was already facing unprecedented challenges all over the place,” WFP deputy head of global communications Martin Penner told The Independent. “With hunger numbers and emergencies just getting bigger by the day.”
“Then along comes the war in Ukraine. Ukraine, together with Russia, is the breadbasket of the world. Ukraine by itself produces enough food every year for about 400 million people. A lot of that is exported,” Penner said.
Speaking from the WFP headquarters in Rome, he added: “It’s like another disaster happening on top of something that was already a catastrophe.”
During the NATO press conference in Belgium Biden had also appeared to contradict previous messaging from the White House by insisting that “sanctions never deter,” and, “I did not say that in fact the sanctions would deter him” while berating a reporter, Valiant News reported.
“Let’s get something straight,” Biden snapped. “If you remember, if you covered me from the very beginning, I did not say that in fact the sanctions would deter him. Sanctions never deter. You keep talking about that. Sanctions never deter.”
Reporter: “Sir, deterrence didn’t work. What makes you think Vladimir Putin will alter course based on the action you’ve taken today?”
Biden: “I did not say that in fact the sanctions would deter him. Sanctions never deter.” pic.twitter.com/A3GnLAvxpN— Wittgenstein (@backtolife_2022) March 24, 2022
On February 20, Vice President Kamala Harris stated, “The purpose of the sanctions has always been and continues to be deterrence.”
