Water Scarcity, Food Insecurity, and War

If a region starts running out of food and running out of water, potential for armed conflict increases dramatically. In those places with significant resource scarcity, like deserts or places stricken by severe drought and have their agricultural output severely crippled by an economic collapse or climate change, conflict is not far off in the distance and only a matter of time before it strikes. 

Looking at the most volatile regions on the planet, and aside from the religion component that drives war, many of the hot-to-the-touch warzones and potentially conflict-ignitable regions are in hot weather climates. In fact, I would say most of them are. Think about it, hot weather, arid, desert climates have more water scarsity and can't produce as much agriculture, leaving many of them to rely on imports and trade from other countries to survive.

   Water depletion and droughts will inevitably force mass migrations, since humans can't survive very long at all without water, and mass migrations put ethnic and cultural groups who are desperate for the basic resources for survival like food and water in direct confrontation with each other, this will very likely lead to incursions and skirmishes, and possibly all out war. 

If a highly overpopulated area starts facing water depletion and food scarcity rather suddenly, you are going to have a mass death situation on your hands quite quickly, and with mass death comes things like disease and the problems conflicts and migrations of people spill into other regions of the world.

      Food and water, at our base, is what sustains human life, far more than technology or transportation. If we don't have food and water, it is a threat to our very lives in not so short of time. The scarcity or depletion of these things leads to desperation, and with desperation often comes violence. Water scarcity and food insecurity are a threat to any nation's security.

 There are few things more dangerous than a mass of desperate people who are hungry and thirsty, especially of those masses are armed to the teeth. It can be quite problematic for national security if the pantries go empty and the wells start drying up. This is true for any country. The United States is no exception.

Just look at Syria, or the whole middle east as an example. The middle east has always been volatile and combustible. From what I've read, the Syrian civil war was partially initiated by a water shortage and the inability for rural areas to produce food. Out of desperation, people moved into the cities looking for work, an this was a partial catalyst for a war that still is raging to this day, and has turned that country into a wasteland

     This is why there needs to be a level of food and water security in any country that wants to prevent conflict, unrest, and war. If the bare necessities and needs of food and water aren't met, then it will inevitably lead to disruption and disorder.