NaturalNews) A growing reliance on imported food and other necessities is making First World nations such as the United Kingdom increasingly vulnerable to social collapse, warns Andrew Simms, policy director of the “think-and-do tank” of the New Economic Foundation, writing in The Guardian.

“Events are revealing that many of the things we take for granted, like bank accounts, fuel and food, are vulnerable,” he writes. “If we value civilization, the litmus test for economic success should not be short-term profitability, but resilience in the face of climatic extremes and resource shortages.”

Simms notes that the assumptions of the free market have led to an economic system focused on producing the greatest cost savings rather than the greatest sustainability. This has led many First World countries to turn away from producing food domestically in favor of cheaper (and more profitable) imports.

via Nine meals from anarchy: What the coming food collapse means for civilization.

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SAINT PETERSBURG — Scientists have identified four new strains of a wheat-killing fungus that could endanger the global food supply, according to research presented Wednesday ahead of a conference in Russia.

The mutant strains of the fungus, called Ug99, originated in Africa but are likely to spread into Asia and beyond, said the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI), a US-based advocacy group focusing on wheat contagions.

“The new mutations — identified last year in South Africa — will make wheat crops more vulnerable as pathogens now will find new wind trajectories for migration,” BGRI said in a statement announcing the new research.

via AFP: Mutant fungus threatens global wheat supply: scientists.

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