Banking on Hunger

A note from the editor

Hazel Healy

Growing up in London, the harvest festival meant delivering dented cans of baked beans to local pensioners. Moving to Oxfordshire to take a job at the New Internationalist brought me the closest I’d ever been to the seasonal cycle of reaping and sowing grains.

In May I biked to work past fields of stiff green wheat, cut through with red streaks of poppies. Over the summer months, the wheat grew a hat of soft green fuzz that shimmied in the wind, before finally turning golden. Then the combine harvesters moved into action, whirring through the night and depositing neat rectangular straw bales at regular intervals.

All the while I was learning how food had been teleported far away from its earthly origins. This month’s main analysis section looks at how banks have alighted on food commodities, turning them intoan asset that can be invested in – like a stock or share. The resulting speculation has disrupted our fragile food system, which fails to feed people at the best of times.

But campaigners are pushing for a clampdown on financial speculators. With the European Commission pushing for a Tobin tax on financial transactions and a Tahrir-style occupation of Wall Street under way, the political winds – for once – are blowing in their favour.

Elsewhere in the magazine, we examine Russia today, 20 years this month since the break-up the Soviet Union.

For the Argument, a humanist and a Catholic debate whether religious schools are good or bad for society. And leading children’s writer Michael Morpugo talks about how the story of the PiedPiper sheds light on the London riots.

Hazel Healy for the New Internationalist co-operative.
www.newint.org

The big story

The food rush

The food rush

Maize and wheat are hot assets, right up there with gold. But since investors piled into food markets, the poorest can no longer afford to eat. Hazel Healy gets to grips with the commodity speculators.

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Features

Kibera's vertical farms

Kibera's vertical farms

Slum dwellers are using urban agriculture as a buffer to market shocks, report Danielle Nierenberg and Jessie Chang.

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Agriculture is high on the list for change in Egypt.Mark Henley / Panos

Egypt's freedom harvest

Rami Zurayk says the Arab uprisings offer a unique chance to embrace food sovereignty.

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Let’s end corruption – starting with Wall Street David Shankbone under a CC Licence

Let’s end corruption – starting with Wall Street

As the #OccupyWallStreet protests continue to grow, Mark Engler agrees that the bankers must be held to account for their ill-gotten gains.

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Blogs

Chicken à la injection

Chicken à la injection

Wild stories fly around about chicken farming but the reality remains less than wholesome, says Mari Marcel Thekaekara.

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Who profits from the 7 billion population frenzy?

Who profits from the 7 billion population frenzy?

Vanessa Baird on why, when it comes to human numbers, nothing sells like fear.

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Opinion

Online antics: protesters prepare a Qadafi caricature inside a burnt state security building in Benghazi.Suhaib Salem, Reuters

Introducing Steve Parry

Our brand new columnist takes a humorous look at the internet's past, present and future.

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Are religious schools bad for society? Philip Wolmuth / reportdigital.co.uk

Are religious schools bad for society?

Humanist Andrew Copson and feminist Catholic theologian Tina Beattie go head-to-head - read their arguments and join the debate.

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Regulars

Three generations of women at a juice bar at Karradeh.Hadani Ditmars

Iraq

Hadani Ditmars finds a battered and divided country where young people strive for a progressive future.

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Egyptian laughter Illustration: Sarah John

Egyptian laughter

In a climate of uncertainty, Maria Golia discovers that laughter can sound hollow.

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Michael Morpurgo writes his own happy ending Richard Canon

Michael Morpurgo writes his own happy ending

The children's author, poet and playwright reflects on London riots and the Pied Piper.

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