this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2024
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Potash has been a huge chunk of the potassium supply, with most of it coming from Canada. But reports indicate we can’t keep up with the demand and it’s driving up prices.
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-0394-0_11
If it’s really a dire problem, it will make financial sense to start separating the potassium from organic waste and to divert food manufacturing byproducts like banana peels from animal feeds to fertilizer production.
Brine from desalination also contains potassium (among other important things). We’re going to have to start desalinating soon anyway.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-022-00153-6
The deeper problem is that it makes 'financial sense' to let a lot of people starve.