The article highlights the sunflower oil shortage in Europe, particularly due to the war in Ukraine, with countries like France and the UK experiencing empty supermarket shelves and price hikes. The shortage is impacting not only the food industry but also cosmetics, with France allowing food companies to replace sunflower oil with other alternatives. The price of other vegetable oils such as soybean and rapeseed oil has also surged. In response, farmers in France and the US are planning to increase the planting of rapeseed and sunflower crops, respectively.