Fertilizer: The forgotten history linking the agricultural commodity and empire in wartime

Fertilizers are not just an agricultural input: they are a strategic resource hidden at the center of geopolitical conflict. The US and Israel's war on Iran and the related disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz are sending shockwaves through the global farming system. A large share of the world's traded chemical fertilizers normally pass through this strategic chokepoint, alongside key feedstocks needed to produce fertilizers elsewhere, such as gas, ammonia and sulfur.