The Economics of Curbing Speculation In Food, Water and Vital Resources

Ethical MarketsArticles by Hazel Henderson

By Hazel Henderson

Recent spikes in prices of rice, soy, wheat and corn have driven many poor people in developing countries into hunger and malnutrition. In 2011, then World Bank president Robert Zoellick estimated that 44 million people fell into poverty in 2010 due to rising food prices, adding, “Food price inflation is the biggest threat today to the world’s poor…one weather event and you start to push people over the edge.”

The United Nations (UN) FAO Food Price Index jumped 25 percent in 2010.

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