Speculation makes food unaffordable - You don't gamble with food!

With an action in front of the Federal Chancellery today, activists protested against how financial investors influence food prices under the slogan "Speculation makes food unaffordable - you don't gamble with food!". The action was organised by Attac, Weed, Oxfam, the Südwind Institute, Medico international and Welthungerhilfe. "Futures markets for food have increasingly become a playing field for financial investors in recent years," said Jutta Sundermann from Attac. "The consequences of speculation affect the poorest people in particular: during speculative peaks, food becomes unaffordable for millions of people, and the fluctuations cause major problems for farmers in particular."

The activists showed the food price curve of recent years on a four by three metre screen. In the last part, however, this curve was mounted so that it could move and was repeatedly pulled upwards by a banker, so that the food (ears of wheat and corn on the cob attached to the top of the curve) was no longer accessible to the people.

The alliance called on politicians to finally take action and stop price-driving speculation with food. The ongoing reform of the European Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) offers an opportunity to do so. Tomorrow, Wednesday, the European Parliament's Finance Committee will discuss the draft report by MEP Markus Ferber (CSU), which, among other things, advocates trading limits ("position limits") for speculators. "This is a first step in the right direction. Ferber must also campaign for this tightening of the law in the further negotiations," demanded Markus Henn from Weed. "However, the MPs must go beyond the current proposals. There is still no requirement to prevent excessive speculation in commodities - not to mention bans on certain speculative products."

Governments are also working on MiFID in the background. The working group of the Council of Finance Ministers (ECOFIN) is also meeting on Wednesday.

"But the German government has not yet taken a clear position in the negotiations," criticised Frank Braßel from Oxfam.

"Finance Minister Schäuble and Chancellor Merkel - unlike the French - have not yet committed to limiting speculation with food."

Signature campaign: Schäuble should stop speculation + To urge Finance Minister Schäuble to make a clear commitment, seven organisations - Attac, Weed, Oxfam, Südwind-Institut, Welthungerhilfe, Fian and Medico International - have been collecting signatures against food speculation since Easter. The collected signatures are to be handed over in a symbolic action in the autumn.

The protest in Germany is part of a Europe-wide mobilisation against food speculation: in a statement published yesterday, Monday, a broad international alliance of civil society organisations called on governments and MEPs in the EU to put a stop to speculation in food and other commodities as part of the MiFID reform.