The article that we are publishing here has been sent
to us by the comrades of the Internasyonalismo group in the Philippines. It shows us the true
worth of the crocodile tears shed by the Filipino ruling class, both in power
and in opposition, for the suffering of the population as a result of a food
crisis which is the result, not of poor harvests but of the capitalist
economy's insatiable thirst for profit no matter what the cost. And the cost is
paid both in the immediate by the working class and the poverty stricken masses
struck by the massive increase in food prices, but also in the long term as the
cynical irresponsibility of the capitalist class increasingly ruins the
ecological system on which humanity's food production depends.
The article's analysis
concentrates on the role of bio-fuel production and the degradation of the rice
producing areas by over-farming. One point should be added in our view: the
role played by the diversion of speculative capital from the US and European housing
markets into the commodities markets - and in particular the futures markets
for food. According to Jean Ziegler, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to
food, while the use of grain for bio-fuels is the major culprit in the rise in
food prices, 30% of the rise can be directly attributed to speculation on the
commodities markets.
