Gambling on the Food Market Makes EU Greedy and Poor Countries Hungry

"Imagine implementing a speed limit to improve safety for drivers - but when it comes to setting that speed limit, it's still too high and does nothing to improve the safety on the roads."

That's the analogy used by Heidi Chow, food sovereignty campaigner at Global Justice Now who told Sputnik that the European Union is on the brink of failing to act on eradicating poverty and hunger in the world's poorest countries by setting position limits in the food market too high.

Food is a human right — not a roulette wheel for banks to gamble on. 1000s call on the EU to stop #foodspeculation https://t.co/R6Xwi7kUfH

— Global Justice Now (@GlobalJusticeUK) February 23, 2016​

A group of human rights campaigners and organizations are calling for tighter rules on food speculation, which is the practice of engaging in risky financial transactions in order to profit from fluctuations in the market. 

The group of NGOs have delivered an open letter to Lord Jonathan Hill, the EU commissioner responsible for financial services, urging him to tighten the rules surrounding excessive price speculation of food in the financial markets.

Two Years On, Two Steps Back

"Back in 2014 we were celebrating because we thought we'd managed to get position limits included in the legislation as a way of curbing excessive speculation," Chow told Sputnik.  

"However, the details of the new proposals reveal that despite the position limits being included in the legislation — they're set too high.

"Higher position limits mean that big players in the financial markets hold a larger proportion of the market and therefore control that commodity… We want these lower — not higher — which will continue to allow speculation in the market," Chow told Sputnik.

According to Global Justice Now, the loop holes in the legislation will make it ineffective and remain concerned after sources in Brussels revealed that the European Commissioner likes the proposals handed to him by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and is likely to implement them.

"That's why we have sent Lord Janner an open letter and we're hoping organizations will come back on board and show the EC that the public is still concerned about these issues," said Chow.

The letter has been signed by Global Justice Now, Oxfam International, Action Aid International and 5,000 other signatories.

"Food is one of the most basic needs of humanity and food prices should not be treated like a gambling game for corporations to make huge profits from.

"It's the detail of the legislation we're concerned about because it undermines the legislation implemented two years ago — like having a speed limit that's 180 miles per hour to improve car safety!"