The U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, often referred to as Agenda 2030, were adopted in 2015 by the organization and its member states as a guide to “transforming our world.” Hailed as a “master plan for humanity” and a global “declaration of interdependence” by top U.N. officials, the 17 goals include 169 targets involving every facet of the economy and life.

“All countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, will implement this plan,” declares the preamble to the document, repeatedly noting that “no one will be left behind.”

Among other elements, the U.N. plan calls for national and international wealth redistribution in Goal 10, as well as “fundamental changes in the way that our societies produce and consume goods and services.”

Using government to transform all economic activity is a critical part of the SDGs, with Goal 12 demanding “sustainable consumption and production patterns.”

Among the specific targets outlined in Goal 12 are several directly linked to agricultural policies that undermine food production. These include “sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.”

Perhaps more importantly, the document demands “environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks.”

As a result, people and especially farmers must “significantly reduce their release to air, water, and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.”

Other SDGs that are directly tied to what critics have called the “war on farmers” include Goal 14, which addresses “marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including … nutrient pollution.” The U.N. regularly describes agriculture and food production as a threat to the ocean.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), led by former CCP Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Qu Dongyu, is helping to lead the charge.

In its 2014 report “Building a Common Vision for Sustainable Food and Agriculture: Principles and Approaches,” the U.N. agency calls for drastic restrictions on the use of fertilizers, pesticides, emissions, and water in the agricultural sector.

As an example of how agriculture must be reformed to be considered sustainable by the U.N., the FAO report declares that “excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer is a major cause of water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.”

Another of the 17 SDGs with a direct impact on agriculture and food production is Goal 2, with its calls for “sustainable agriculture” and “sustainable food production.”

Goal 6, meanwhile, calls for “sustainable management of water,” which includes various targets involving agricultural water use and runoff.

Because U.N. leaders see agriculture and food production as key contributors to what they call manmade climate change, Goal 13 is important, too. It calls for governments to “integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.”

Goal 15, which deals with sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, also has multiple targets that affect agriculture and food production.

All over the world, national and regional governments are working with U.N. agencies to implement these sustainability goals in agriculture and other sectors.

For instance, responding to U.N. biodiversity agreements, the European Union has enacted various U.N.-backed biodiversity programs such as Natura 2000 and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, which have been cited by the Dutch government and others in their agricultural policies.

The U.N. also boasts publicly about its role in imposing the SDGs in Sri Lanka and other nations suffering from food shortages and economic calamities linked to the very same global sustainability programs.

Around the world, almost every national government says it’s incorporating the SDGs into its own laws and regulations.

Food prices in the United States shot up in May at their fastest annual pace in 42 years, according to new government data, with some food producers warning American households to brace for more inflationary pain ahead, as some input costs have yet to be reflected in grocery store prices.

The food component of the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, released on June 30 by the Commerce Department (pdf), showed food prices vaulting at an annual 11 percent in May, the highest reading since 1980.

The multi-decade high reading marks the 11th consecutive month that food prices have climbed in the United States. It’s also double the 5.5 percent pace of food price inflation notched just last November.

A number of U.S. farmers interviewed by The Epoch Times have said that soaring fuel and fertilizer costs have yet to fully make their way down the food production chain.

“Usually, what we see on the farm, the consumer doesn’t see for another 18 months,” said John Chester, a Tennessee farmer of corn, wheat, and soybeans.

“People don’t realize what’s fixing to hit them,” Texas farmer Lynn “Bugsy” Allen said. “They think it’s tough right now. You give it until October; food prices are going to double.”

The grim forecasts come as the American Farm Bureau Federation said in a recent report that American consumers can expect to pay 17 percent more to eat this coming July 4 compared to Independence Day last year.

The average cost of a summer cookout for 10 people would total $69.68, an increase of about $10 from 2021, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the so-called core PCE price index, which excludes the volatile categories of food and energy and is the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge for measuring inflation, rose by 4.7 percent in the year through May, Commerce Department data show.

While that’s a slight decline from the prior month’s 4.9 percent pace of growth and roughly in line with analysts’ estimates, it’s more than double the 2 percent inflation target that the U.S. central bank aims for when it sets monetary policy, chiefly interest rates.

And while the over-the-year core PCE inflation gauge inched down, the month-over-month reading remained flat at 0.3 percent in May for the fourth month in a row, suggesting that inflationary pressures remain stuck in high gear, and the Fed’s fight to lower price growth will be protracted.

“Inflation appears to be cooling, but it may be a mirage, as sequential momentum remains strong,” Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, wrote on Twitter, referring to the elevated monthly inflation readings.

The Fed has pivoted in its view on inflation, initially considering it a temporary spike that would soon pass but now describing it as persistent and problematic.

The central bank has embarked on an aggressive rate-hiking cycle in a bid to tame runaway prices, with some analysts seeing a growing risk that the U.S. economy will tip into recession.  Pretty sure we are there.

Facing potential food supply shortages, some countries have adopted policies limiting food exports, raising concerns globally about food supply and exacerbating food inflation woes.

Since the beginning of the war with Ukraine in late February, about 30 nations have taken steps to restrict certain food exports.

Ukraine—known as the breadbasket of the world—shut its ports early in the war and subsequently banned the export of buckwheat, millet, barley, rye, salt, sugar, and meat. It also imposed export licenses on sunflower oil, corn, and wheat. The export ban is to remain in effect until the end of the year.

Russia announced a ban on exports of sunflower seeds and imposed a 700,000-ton export quota on sunflower meal until Aug. 31. It also suspended exports of corn, rye, meslin, wheat, and barley until June 30.

Serbia has restricted the export of flour, wheat, corn, and cooking oil till year-end.

The number of people who are heading toward starvation has increased to 276 million from 80 million during the past four to five years, David Beasley, executive director for the U.N. World Food Programme, told Reuters.

“We were facing an extraordinary food crisis before Ukraine, food costs, commodity prices, shipping costs were already doubling, tripling, quadrupling,” Beasley said.

Egypt has blocked the export of onions, eggplant, potatoes, and tomatoes for an indefinite period.

Turkey banned exporting several grain products, as well as butter, goat meat, beef, and mutton until Dec. 31 after inflation spiked 54 percent in February. Meat prices have risen by almost 50 percent in the country.

Argentina has capped the export volume of wheat and corn. The restriction, blamed on domestic inflation, has resulted in reducing exports for the current cycle to 25 million tons in December 2021, from 41.6 million tons during the prior season.

India has restricted the export of wheat, only agreeing to export it to nations that need wheat for meeting food security requirements. The government has also capped sugar exports at 10 million tons for the market year, which runs through September.

Heat waves across South Asia have resulted in agricultural losses and pushed up prices in the domestic market. The sudden governmental restriction shocked international markets as India—the second-biggest wheat producer in the world after China—had previously assured that climatic changes wouldn’t affect its export numbers.

As a result, global wheat prices jumped 6 percent, with futures trading hitting $12.4 per bushel on Monday, the highest level in two months. Although prices cooled down a bit later on, it’s still up by nearly 50 percent since the Russian invasion.

Malaysia has announced a ban on chicken exports, triggering worries in Singapore, which gets a third of its supplies from Kuala Lumpur.

“Lower-income households in the UK and the U.S. are struggling to feed themselves,” Sonia Akter, an assistant professor specializing in agriculture at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, told Bloomberg.

Rising prices “will disproportionately affect poor people who spend a large share of their income on food,” she said.

In the United States, the 12-month consumer inflation was at 8.3 percent in April, remaining close to the four-decade high of 8.5 percent registered in March. Food prices in April had risen by 9.4 percent on an annual basis, while energy prices rose by 30.3 percent.