Taking local action against food speculation

Date: 8 May 2013

If you walk down the high-street you will find them. Even though they are mostly associated with the City of London, they are present in towns and cities across the UK. Banks speculating on food are present from town centres to government corridors – and so we must be, if we want to challenge them.

Food speculation has been identified as a key cause of hunger as it drives up food prices, making food inaccessible to the world’s poorest while making profits for the world’s richest.

Thousands of people have already taken action to help bankers quit their addiction to gambling on food, through our five step programme.

With our campaign we have pushed Barclays, one of the biggest speculators in food, to admit the damaging effects and pull out of some types of speculation. However, the bank still continues to facilitate speculation by pension funds and other financial players. If we want to curb food speculation, we need to campaign where the banks are – from the corridors of power in Brussels to your local high-street. There is an urgent need for tough EU regulation on food speculation, and we need to act on all levels to achieve this.

The World Development Movement already has many amazing groups and campaigners present across the UK. Their effort and creative campaigns are an essential part of creating public pressure for politicians and bankers alike to support regulations and curb food speculation.

As a final step in our Bankers Anonymous campaign we have asked our online supporters to join up with a local campaign group to strengthen our campaigns locally – and nationally. This is an opportunity to link up with like-minded campaigners to help put an end to gambling on food. 

Find out what is going on in your area.