As noted yesterday, global wheat consumption has been growing faster than the expansion in production. Sometimes it takes non-agricultural researchers to look at an issue in a different way. Petroleum engineers at the Colorado School of Mines studied global areas where the loss of sub-surface supports are causing the surface areas to collapse. They identified a stretch of Southwest Asia, Southeast Asia and the North China Plain where the occurrence of subsidence is particularly acute. However, the areas impacted are not from the removal of underground petroleum reserves but rather the loss of ground water.  The issue is particularly problematic for Iran where wheat production year to year is quite volatile. Output dropped 2 MMT this ye...