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Deutsche Bank reduces ‘hunger trade’

Germany's biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, says it will slow its food-price betting business after almost admitting trade in staple foods was linked to higher food prices and the growing number of hungry people.

Deutsche Bank reduces 'hunger trade'
Photo: DPA

“We recognise that the proper functioning of agricultural markets (has) wide social ramifications,” the bank said in its annual social responsibility report.

It said it was “concerned by the growing number of people who find themselves in food poverty.”

Activists have been protesting against “commodity index funds” by Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs saying they are key culprits in the volatility of food prices around the world.

Other German banks known to bet on food prices are Commerzbank and, to a lesser extent, Sparkasse.

The funds enable banks to effectively bet on the development of food prices – and are held responsible for the sharp rise in food prices since 2008.

Deutsche Bank said on Tuesday it would not launch investment products this year dealing in staple food commodities and look more closely at any link with increased hunger.

In response to Deutsche Bank’s announcement, Matthias Wolfschmidt, deputy director of the German NGO Foodwatch, called on the bank to renounce its existing food community products and pledge a lasting ban.

The group of 20 industrial and developing nations pledged last year to take action on rampant food price inflation and curb the influence of speculative investors.

“We agree with international policy makers that transparency in agricultural commodity derivatives markets should be enhanced and measures to avoid misconduct strengthened,” Deutsche Bank said in its report.

But it argued that other factors were also behind rising prices of crucial staples including growing demand, trade restrictions and state subsidies.

AFP/jcw

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FOOD AND DRINK

Danish chef wants to launch gourmet dining to stratosphere

Danish chef Rasmus Munk wants to take high-end cuisine to the edge of space, with plans to serve up a stratospheric dining experience in 2025, his restaurant said Thursday.

Danish chef wants to launch gourmet dining to stratosphere

“The expedition will take place aboard Space Perspective Spaceship Neptune, the world’s first carbon-neutral spaceship,” Alchemist, the Copenhagen restaurant that has earned Munk two Michelin stars, said in a statement.

“They will dine as they watch the sunrise over the Earth’s curvature” at an altitude of 100,000 feet (30,000 metres) above sea level, it said.

For $495,000 per ticket, six tourists will embark on a six-hour journey in a pressurised space capsule that will rise into the stratosphere in a hydrogen-filled “SpaceBalloon”.

The 32-year-old chef and self-confessed space enthusiast will be joining the trip.

READ ALSO: World-famous Copenhagen restaurant to close after 2024

Munk promises “dishes inspired by the role of space exploration during the last 60 years of human history, and the impact it has had on our society — both scientifically and philosophically”.

His menu will be restricted only by his inability to cook food over an open flame.

Many of the ingredients will be prepared on the ship from which the capsule is launched, according to Alchemist, which is ranked fifth among the world’s restaurants in 2023 according to the World’s Best 50 Restaurants guide.

In recent decades, Denmark has emerged as a gastronomical powerhouse on terra firma, with the Copenhagen restaurants Noma and Geranium both having held the title of the world’s best restaurant.

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