The Tikkun Community should take justified pride in twenty-five years of fighting effectively for social justice and building from Jewish traditions and teachings in waging these fights. In that spirit I wish to pose what may seem like an out-of-nowhere question: are you following the current activities of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission?
My guess is that almost everyone is answering “no.” This is a serious problem. Despite its obscurity as a federal government regulatory body, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is making decisions now that could determine whether hundreds of millions of people experience malnutrition, hunger, and perhaps even starvation in the coming years.
Futures markets for food, oil and other commodities have long been used by farmers and others to maintain stability in their business operations and plan for the future. For example, under a “plain vanilla” wheat futures contract, a farmer could spend...
