AFJN has signed on to a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission which urges the Commission to implement the financial reforms (Dodd-Frank Act) passed last year in terms of firmer regulations on commodities speculation.  Commodities speculation (specifically, buying food or fuel en masse with the intent to sell as prices increase) has been massively deregulated to the point where billions of dollars have poured into the market, but the majority of the holders do not deal physically with the commodities at all.
This speculation is artificially driving up prices (creating a bubble not unlike the housing bubble) and relegating millions to food insecurity and starvation.  Only a few large financial institutions handle the commodity trade, and there is no transparency.  By taking part in commodities speculation, one is both banking on food and fuel getting more expensive AND making it so.  While that may be true, this practice is reflected in the eyes of families in Africa and around the world who face the prospect of feeding hungry children with an impossible 70% increase in grain.  By urging the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to implement regulations, improve transparency and place limits on commodities speculation, we could save millions of lives.  Find more information here.