Image via WikipediaForeign Policy has a must-read story about the role that Goldman Sachs has played in driving up food prices globally. The story starts back in 1991, when Goldman planted the seeds of a trend that other institutions would follow, to the detriment of anyone who relies on eating food. Or at least, anyone who eats who doesn't also have endless supplies of money.
The World Development Movement (a British organization) recently launched a campaign targeting Barclay's for its role in also profiting from higher food prices, as one of the three biggest players in the commodities markets (alongside Goldman and Morgan Stanley).
The Ecologist explains the World Development Movement's analysis of Barclays' involvement in food speculation:
Barclays could be generating as much as £340 million a year through gambling on the price of key commodity crops like coffee, sugar and wheat, the Ecologist has learnt. By creating funds to allow investors to speculate on the price of food, in the same way they would invest in the shares of a company, Barclays and others are able to bet on the price of food. However, food commodity trading is leading to higher and more volatile prices, say campaigners, which affect poor families in the less industrialised world the hardest as they can't afford basic foods and also make it more difficult for farmers to plan and invest. More...
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