In an article by Greg Lindsay, published on September 22, 2001 on FastCompany.com, the author discusses the link between ethanol and financial speculation.
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Why have global food prices spiked not once, but twice in the last three years, raising the specter of famine and triggering worldwide food riots–including the Arab Spring? Many explanations have been floated, including climate change-related droughts in Australia, volatile oil prices, “food security” export restrictions, and last but not least, feeding China’s strategic pork reserve.
But according to a scientific paper released this morning by the New England Complex Systems Institute, there are only two factors that matter: ethanol and financial speculation.
