By Naomi Spencer | WSWS Severe drought spread rapidly across the
central US this week, further damaging staple crops and
heightening the risk of a global food crisis. The Midwest, where
roughly one-third of the world’s staple grains are produced, is
experiencing the deepest dry spell in over half a century. The
National Drought Mitigation Center in a statement Thursday
reported “tremendous intensification of drought through
Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Arkansas, Kansas and
Nebraska, and into part of Wyoming and South Dakota in the last
week.” Almost 30 percent of the Midwest is under extreme drout
Every state in the country had some counties under abnormally
dry or drought conditions, making the disaster the most
widespread US drought since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) has declared 1,369 counties
across 31 states disaster areas—officially the largest US
disaster on record. “It’s getting to the point where some of the
damage is not reversible,” said Brian Fuchs, a c