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Global food prices spiked 10 percent in July, following unprecedented summer droughts and record high temperatures that devastated agricultural production in the U.S. and Eastern Europe, putting millions of people at risk of starvation in developing parts of the world that are dependent on food imports.
“Countries in the Middle East and North and Sub-Saharan Africa are most vulnerable to this global shock,” read a report from the World Bank. “They have large food import bills, their food consumption is a large share of average household spending, and they have limited fiscal space and comparatively weaker protective mechanisms.”
Meanwhile, the world’s four largest grain companies– Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, Cargill, and Louis Dreyfus, commonly referred to as the “ABCDs,” and which collectively control anywhere from 75 to 90 percent of global grain trade — are still reaping massive profits amid the global food crisis, while doing little to improve food security where it is sorely needed.
While current data reflecting industry profits amid July’s spike in prices are not yet available, past records show a general trend towards profit increasing along with...