Well, not long ago I remember reading an article claiming that Western capitalist globalization of trade and mass-production caused food prices to drop to such

Well, not long ago I remember reading an article claiming that Western capitalist globalization of trade and mass-production caused food prices to drop to such a degree that poor third-world farmers who don't have access to economies of scale cannot compete and make a profit. Now someone is blaming Western speculative traders for raising food prices. My point is, no matter what happens, someone is going to blame the West. Rich people are such easy targets to put blame on. > which is most often detached from "real reasons based on the facts on the ground". If that was the case, then why doesn't someone with more access to "facts on the ground" make a huge profit by betting more accurately given this knowledge? Perhaps the speculative market you are talking about actually does reflect facts on the ground.