Washington, D.C. — As the Iran War escalates, threatening higher fertilizer and food costs, the national environmental organization Food & Water Watch has released new research revealing how the world’s most powerful grain corporations cash in on global insecurity. The report highlights how the consolidation and financialization of our food system have enabled grain corporations to capitalize on global crises to maximize profits while people go hungry.

The research, Reaping What Others Sow: How Grain Traders Profit from Global Crises, reveals how the world’s four largest grain corporations — Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge, Cargill, and Louis-Dreyfus Company (LDC) — profited handsomely from high food prices in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, offering a warning for today’s crises. Specifically:

• In the five years following the 2008 food crisis, ADM and Bunge nominal profits rose 46 and 48 percent, respectively, compared to the five years prior.
• In the five years following the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, ADM, Bunge, and LDC nominal profits soared by 61, 87, and 86 percent, respectively, compared to the five years prior. This, while global food prices rose to record highs in 2022, and annual U.S. food inflation jumped 10 percent, the largest increase since the 1970s food crisis.

Food & Water Watch Senior Researcher Ben Murray issued the following statement:

“The world’s largest grain corporations have a track record of cashing in on war, climate change and more for profit. Exorbitant price hikes, commodity speculation and a food system designed to maximize shareholder returns do not work for farmers or consumers in any country. We need to crack down on these food monopolies and rebuild a system that puts people first.”