Food on the dinner table or corporate profits?

The document asserts that global hunger is caused by a profit-driven system rather than food scarcity, highlighting the role of the 'ABCD firms' and financial speculators in driving up prices. It links food systems to 34% of global greenhouse gas emissions and notes the severe impact of climate-driven droughts in Southern Africa. While acknowledging previous G20 efforts, it criticizes the lack of systemic reforms, such as regulating food speculation or implementing buffer stocks. Under its G20 presidency, South Africa has established a Food Security Task Force to study commodity price volatility and stabilization techniques.

• Global hunger is not a result of food scarcity but is driven by corporate profit motives and a system that prioritizes wealth over people, with nearly 800 million people currently facing chronic hunger.
• Food systems are a significant driver of climate change, accounting for 34% of global greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through energy use, deforestation, and methane from livestock.
• Climate change is causing severe agricultural disruptions; specifically, the 2024 El Niño drought destroyed 70% of crops in Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, resulting in 21 million malnourished children.
• The global grain market is highly concentrated, with four companies—Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, Cargill, and Louis Dreyfus (the ABCD firms)—controlling 70% of the market.
• Financial speculators and the ABCD firms use futures contracts to bet on food prices, which destabilizes markets and artificially increases costs for consumers.
• The G20 has failed to implement systemic reforms to end food price volatility, such as the introduction of food buffer stocks—coordinated reserves of staples used to stabilize prices and counter speculation.
• South Africa has created a dedicated Food Security Task Force to supplement the G20 Agriculture Working Group, focusing on analyzing commodity price volatility, exploring stabilization techniques, and mapping policies for food system transformation.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2025). Food on the dinner table or corporate profits? https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IEJ-G20factsheet4-Food-security-web-2-1.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Food on the dinner table or corporate profits? 2025. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IEJ-G20factsheet4-Food-security-web-2-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Food on the dinner table or corporate profits? |date=August 2025 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IEJ-G20factsheet4-Food-security-web-2-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2025food, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Food on the dinner table or corporate profits?}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2025}, month = aug, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IEJ-G20factsheet4-Food-security-web-2-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }