Food and Finance

Recent developments in the global finance sector are imperilling food production and the vision for life-enhancing agriculture, say economists in this two-year study.

The growing effects of global finance—both financial and philanthropic—on the sustainability of agriculture are explored in this new World Council of Churches (WCC) publication developed with Bread for all (Bfa), entitled “Food and Finance: Toward Life-Enhancing Agriculture,” edited by Athena Peralta, WCC programme executive for economic and ecological justice.

The text, published online, comprises two studies that examine the role of less-observed actors, such as philanthropic organizations and international financial institutions, in the financialization of food in Africa and Asia, respectively.

“In agriculture, financiers and speculators are turning to food crops and monocultural farming estates as lucrative areas for profit-making. This ongoing phenomenon has resulted in unstable food prices as well as large-scale land acquisitions with profound social and ecological costs: hunger, displacement, and the poisoning of soils and waters.” — from the Foreword by Isabel Apawo Phiri and Miges Baumann.