226 Searching for Solutions
"Locust plagues lead directly to a reduction in crops, and in severe cases, there may be no harvest at all. Ultimately, the shortage of food leads to famine. Since ancient times, war, epidemics, and famine have been the three great evils bringing immense suffering to humanity."
Grandpa Bai worried Zhao Zhitong might not fully grasp the severity from the words alone, so he provided some data: "Listen, young girl, locusts have a very large appetite. In its lifetime, a single locust consumes about 100 grams of food. During a locust plague, their numbers can reach hundreds of millions."
"If hundreds of millions of locusts swarmed, they could destroy the food supply for 2,500 people in a single day. For instance, records show that in 1958, a locust swarm in the Somali Desert spread across 1,000 square kilometers. These locusts devoured 80,000 tons of grain in one day, equivalent to the annual food supply for 400,000 people."
