What are the causes of famine?

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Many famines are precipitated by natural causes, such as drought, flooding, unseasonable cold, typhoons, vermin depredations, insect infestations, and plant diseases. The most common human cause of famine is warfare, which destroys crops and food supplies and disrupts the distribution of food. Some have argued that a less proximate cause of famines is the nature of a country’s political system.