[Radix] Fwd: food speculation

[George Kent]

Radixers --

Here is a message I just sent to friends who work on food issues from  
a human rights perspective. I thought it might interest Radix people.

Aloha, George

Begin forwarded message:

>
>
> Pals –
>
> I’ve just had a chance to look at  the UN press release titled  
> “Human Rights Council Advisory Committee Discusses the Right to  
> Food.” It is at http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/4EFC69127641CC87C12574A000767BE7?opendocument
>
> It discusses the role of speculation in the recent increases in the  
> food commodity prices. The experts quoted in the press release say  
> that it is up to governments to control this. I think this issue  
> deserves more attention than it has been getting, especially from  
> human rights people.
>
> The speculation in commodity futures is comparable to speculation in  
> actual food held in reserves. Much of the famine history in India  
> and other parts of the world has resulted from such speculation.  
> Food was stored to manage risk for the benefit of people with money,  
> not for the benefit of people with needs.
>
> At the local level, speculation often shows up as hoarding. When  
> there is a looming food crisis, people tend to hoard food, which  
> tends to make the situation worse. We see it here in Hawaii every  
> time there is a hint of a possible shipping strike. I don’t know of  
> any serious government plans anywhere for dealing with the hoarding  
> that is likely to take place in the face of threatened food  
> shortages. I would think that in some extreme situations some forms  
> of food rationing would be necessary.
>
> It used to be that in many places there was a natural buffer stock  
> of food sitting in warehouses. However, modern shipping technologies  
> and strategies mean that the holding of food in storage is  
> minimized. There is practically no buffer against disaster.
>
> Any thoughts on this? Is there work underway on this issue that I  
> don’t know about?
>
> Aloha, George

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