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Lindsay Newland Bowker

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Commodities Speculation: A Cause of Food Crises? A Crime Against Humanity?

An important and credible new study, discussed at length in a recent Scientific American Article, seems to have penetrated all the hype and confusion about derivatives and about the causes of the food crises world wide that have caused famine, death, and revolt.:

http://necsi.edu/research/social/foodprices.html

The study concludes that ethanal has indeed been a major factor but also that the role of commodities market speculation is undeniable.

American and EU central banks and the biggest EU and American Banks are firmly commited to derivatives and resolutely opposed to any regulation, to any clearing houses or any changes that would fundamentally alter the current global free market in derivatives. Derivatives are an essential tool in global risk management, but if this studyis true are we allowing a systemic crime against humanity in not making least those corrections that would remove price distortions.?

Recently 10 ordinary game geeks with no background in scince and medicine solved a very complex problem in the study of HIV. . Can we do that here a TED conversations with this very important question?
Can we go beyond opinion, go beyond what we each already possess in expertise and knowldedge and become together here a global citizens collaborative seeking to understand and offer meaningful solutions to this truly critical global problem?

Can we become a collaborative of investigative journalists seeking the truth and bringing it here via links with commentary?

I think we can and I am proposing that we try. A monumental undertaking for anyone person but I believe the answer is out there in work that has alreday been done and published on the web. I think we as global citizens without a clue about global markets and murky mysteries of derivatives can penetrate this truly critical question. Can offer solutions the experts haven't come up with . I think its a great way to support Occupy Wall Street and use TED.

Related Talks:
Topics: derivatives dodd-frank act global food crisis occupy wall street wall street reform world hunger
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    Luigi Vampa

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    Oct 2 2011: Cara Lindsay the "food crisis" is no more than a strategy to reduce the world population by famine and hunger as a focal point to provoque war. You can consult the Lugano Report from Susan George. Beyond the hughe amount of technical data and specialist research, the strategy is clear and is conducted by the owners of the real goods (gold, silver, oil, cooper...etc.) in the sub-soil, for example in Africa or in some places in Central America. The intelligence services are training to achieve this "wars" (tutsis vs hutus is just an example) and "clean" the place to let the explotation of the very richness from the earth. Also the famine is the second rider in the apocalypse.
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      Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+

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      Oct 2 2011: Hi Luigi and thanks for stopping by..I will check out the Lugano report but amd not pre disposed to the theory that there is an intentional orchestrated program to depopulate the worlds poorest nations through starvation.

      Although it dorsn't say so outright what this study and its mathmatical model say to me is that there is no intentional knowing price manipulation of food in the comdities market..seems to be more that speculation distorted futures prices in ways that weren't known or understood when sellers made their usual reference to futures in pricing food.

      And of course this study is not in any way suggesting that fixing the "pricing error" in food would end wolrd hunger. Did you see the graphs Debra Smith shared from the U.N. via link? Very interesting. Important to take note of the apparently very clear correlation between events in the commoditities market and dramatic rises in famine and hunger globally. The Caimbridge study may be over reaching in its statements about the connection beween speculation and food crises world wide but the reality of food crises wolrd wide cannot be denied..nor the trend and implications of that trend.
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      Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+

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      Oct 2 2011: Ah, yes..the Lugano report..a work of fiction with a lot of truth and insight. Some of what she says in the lugano report is documented in the film "Blind Spot" which points to "post peak" agricuktural production as having happened some time ago and essentially says that there is no technology ( certainly not Mionsanto's misguided genetically modified foods) that can change the fcat the world is overppulate.and not capable of sustaining more growth. The film. as i recall, assert sthat a sustainable planet requires a popluation of at least 1/3 less than we have now.

      I am not an economist but it seem sthere i sno arguement or dispute that we have reached peak agricuktural production..that we are simply capable of prodcing more food than we are already producing and in fact have undermined and are undermining our capacity globally to even sustain current food production levels.

      The Caimbridge study and the hype about it that prompted me to bring this question to TED did not speak of "post peak" agricultural production or specifically factor that into the "normal" price equlibrium in their model.

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