Or he can sell pork bellies at today's price hoping the market will drop so he can buy back the futures contract at a lower price and if it goes up, he loses. He does this by selling a futures contract at today's price. The worst that can happen then is that he loses the profit from a price rise. Or he may wish to buy silver. Values of precious metals fluctuate widely.
World production is limited and demand can skyrocket during periods of inflation or war.
Though no income is earned from commodities or rare things, a price rise can bring the investor a handsome profit.