A geography professor who specializes in food security and an artist have teamed up to create one of the most interesting dystopian comics we’ve seen in a while. Welcome to the world of #foodcrisis, set in a famine-plagued future that is all too believable.
Evan Fraser works at the University of Guelph in Canada, researching the history of famines — and the factors that make them likely to happen again. He’s disturbed by the fact that few people realize we’re surrounded by warning signs that famine is coming, on a global scale. We’re suffering droughts while the population is rising, and few countries are prepared for the coming crisis. That’s why Fraser teamed up with artist Scott Mooney to create #foodcrisis, a comic about the world as it could be, if we don’t act now.
Here’s a plot summary:
#foodcrisis is a futuristic graphic novel about a massive food crisis hitting North America. Set in the year 2025, the novel weaves together several story lines that cover issues such as land grabs, rising food prices, food riots, inequality, migration, climate change and more.
#foodcrisis isn’t just a work of fiction though. All the elements of the plot are based on the history of past food crises, like the Dust Bowl or the Great Irish Potato Famine, just imagined in the future.
Read the first three issues online, free. And here’s the trailer, which the creators admit is a little over-the-top (but still awesome).
One of the things I like about this comic (because, let’s face it, I’m a nerd) is that Fraser gives us a lot of explanations for the action, giving us an opportunity to learn as we’re watching the disaster unfold:
And then we get some action, as the horror unfolds:
Don’t just read it because you like dystopian stories. Read it to understand why we need to change our agricultural practices and political systems now, so that millions aren’t starving in 10 years.
Now, on World Food Day, Fraser and Mooney are hoping people will help out with their Kickstarter campaign to fund the rest of the comic book.
