# How food shortages could collapse the UK government | Professor Paul Behrens

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/climate-unf-cked-7472327/how-food-shortages-could-collapse-the-uk-government-professor-paul-behrens
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/climate-unf-cked-7472327/how-food-shortages-could-collapse-the-uk-government-professor-paul-behrens.md
Podcast: [Climate Unf*cked](https://stenobird.com/podcast/climate-unf-cked-7472327)
Published: 2026-08-11T07:02:15+00:00
Episode link: https://episode.flightcast.com/01KZKHPPDNTH3YY66XJBFX7SH9.mp3
Audio file: https://episode.flightcast.com/01KZKHPPDNTH3YY66XJBFX7SH9.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/climate-unf-cked-7472327/episodes/how-food-shortages-could-collapse-the-uk-government-professor-paul-behrens
Duration seconds: 4136

## Resource

Professor Paul Behrens of the Oxford martin School at the University of Oxford works at the intersection of food systems, climate change, and food security. Originally trained in physics and astronomy, he spent years working on energy systems before turning his attention to what he now believes is one of the most fragile and underestimated threats we face: the food system that feeds us. Paul is the author of the popular science book, The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: Futures from the Frontiers of Climate Science (Indigo Press, 2021) which describes humanity’s current trajectory and possible futures in paired chapters of pessimism and hope. His research and writing on climate, energy, and food, has appeared in scientific journals and media outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Thomson Reuters, Politico, Nature Sustainability, Nature Energy, PNAS, Nature Food, and We cover Climate change is already driving a third of food price inflation in the UK, with drought, flooding, geopolitical instability, and energy shocks potentially pushing prices to 1970s levels The UK holds between three days and three weeks of food storage; Finland has nine months A Joint Intelligence Committee report on ecosystem collapse was suppressed before being released in abridged form. Animals lose between 80–97% of the calories fed to them; that inefficiency becomes catastrophic as climate change shrinks the productive biosphere Shifting to a planetary health diet could reduce emissions by 61%, spare an area the size of Scotland, and save the NHS tens of billions of pounds a year We massively underestimate each other's willingness to act on climate — 60% of people intending to vote Reform support onshore wind turbines Over 40% of the UK supports a meat tax, despite politicians treating it as…

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## Transcript

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