My bone of contention is in you writing an alarmistic article based on scraps of weak data. It is scientists’ job to warn us about things, but we should take it with a grain of salt. You did not do it. Your article aims not to inform readers; it is in getting their attention by spreading fear. I responded the way I did because what you did is typical for the United States media. It betrays the fundamental mission of journalism; it is morally wrong. You are still young; I hope you will refrain from using scary tactics in your future writing.

The data shows that in 1961 the yearly use of phosphates worldwide totaled 10.93 million tons. In 2014 it was 46.70 million tons. In 1961 in Asia, they used 1.03 million tons of phosphates; in 2014, they used 28.07 million tons. It is 78.47% of total growth. Sixty years ago, starvation was the biggest problem in China, India, and all over Asia. Thanks to modern agriculture, including phosphate fertilizers, a few billion people in Asia do not go to bed hungry as their parents did.

In the United States, the use of phosphates practically did not increase in the last 40 years. In Europe, it dropped from around 15 million tons yearly in the 1980s and 1990s to around 3.5 million in this century. Also, in technologically advanced countries, the use of phosphates per hectare is more than three times smaller than in China or Brazil. It means that modern agriculture can go with fewer phosphate fertilizers. China and Brazil will follow this path soon.

Lastly, when checking for phosphates mining, https://investingnews.com/daily/resource-investing/agriculture-investing/phosphate-investing/top-phosphate-countries-by-production/, it does not appear that the shortage of sources of phosphates is anywhere near.