Bets on agricultural commodities are playing dice with food costs for millions of people, and with the incomes that farming families rely on for survival.
Financial deregulation – the elimination of obstacles to foreign investment and speculation – has allowed massive amounts of this phantom capital to flow across borders at the click of a button. Bets on exchange rates can cause currencies to crash, instantly changing the prices of imported goods on which people have become dependent. Bets on agricultural commodities are playing dice with food costs for millions of people, and with the incomes that farming families rely on for survival.