The Secret Financial Life of Food: From Commodities Markets to Supermarkets (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History)
Newman explains the history of where, how, and why our food is traded and the link between the farm and the dinner table. Rather than a how-to on trading commodity futures, this book explores culinary history and the role of the commodities market in shaping that history. Newman quotes authority Chad Hart, who estimates that raw commodities account for 15 to 20 cents of every dollar spent on food, with the rest going for advertising, transportation, labor, and so forth, whereas in the 1940s and ’50s commodities had a greater influence on food prices. U.S. trading of agricultural commodities in the future will have a global perspective likely to reflect global food needs and availabilities—not just those of American eaters. Americans will continue to rely on the agricultural futures market for price discovery (figuring how much to charge for an item and the price that the market will bear and keeping food prices generally steady). Interesting, thought-provoking book for food aficionados. --Mary Whaley