Merchants of Grain by Dan Morgan

Merchants of Grain: The Power and Profits of the Five Giant Companies at the Center of the World’s Food Supply by Dan Morgan describes the seven secretive families and five far-flung companies that management the world’s food supplies. This text tells us more than some other work in regards to the past and present of the biggest (and mostly American) firms.
In the realm of public affairs there are useful accounts of some acquainted episodes (Soviet wheat, Korean rice) and revealing reviews on less well-known issues such as the actions of the Division of Agriculture in pushing grain sales abroad. All advised, there may be lower than a reader may hope for however more than has been collected in a single place before.
Creator conducts a complete investigation of how these corporations came about, their successes and tribulations until the modern era, explaining the intricacies of this secretive trade. There are 5 main grain firms: Cargill Inc (Minneapolis); Continental Grain Firm (NYC); Andre of Lausanne (Switzerland); Louis Dreyfus (Paris); and Bunge Corporation. These have all been controlled by highly effective households, and have by no means gone public. A lot of the world, (including me before this book), has never heard of these firms, although they control and distribute commodities crucial for our survival.
This is due to their vehement pursuit of secrecy and grasp on energy, each of which, have been necessary at numerous occasions to their survival and success. These firms are actually diversified, multinational companies that rival the scale of many public corporations.
These corporations have also diversified, focusing on trades related and needed: different agriculture, commodities, transport and banking. There’s a certain code that grain merchants subject themselves to, a relic from a classical medieval time of trade: contracts are hardly ever defaulted.
Merchants of Grain: The Power and Profits of the Five Giant Companies at the Center of the World’s Food Supply [Paperback]
Dan Morgan
iUniverse (October 19, 2000)
424 pages
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