The Canadian Wheat Board is a monopoly seller of western Canadian wheat, durum, and barley for human consumption, and feed wheat for export. In this study, the authors first examine Canada's position in the world wheat & barley markets and the Board's role relative to multinational grain companies (MGCs). Chapter 3 presents the regulatory framework governing the Canadian grain industry. The single- desk selling concept of the Board is examined from a theoretical perspective in chapter 4. This chapter also describes the structure of the world wheat & barley trade in which MGCs play key roles. Recent changes in government policies in the US, the European Union, and Canada are discussed in chapter 5. Chapter 6 discusses state trading in grain, the World Trade Organization (WTO) attempts to discipline state trading enterprises, and the Board's impact on trade in the WTO context. Chapter 7 covers the numerous confrontations concerning Canada-US grain trade. Chapter 8 focuses on the debate over creation of a dual market for feed barley. Chapter 9 examines the Charter of Rights case brought against the Board by barley producers & organizations. The focus of chapter 10 is grain transportation, its regulatory framework, and the Board's roles in the grain transportation system. Chapter 11 examines the Board's economic performance. Chapter 12 discusses the marketing of flax and canola in order to better understand how the Board can achieve price premiums and eliminate inefficiencies when marketing grains. The Board's ability to introduce additional price & marketing flexibility is discussed in chapter 13, including the implications of providing the option for using futures markets. Chapter 14 explores the debate over dual marketing and its viability for western Canadian grain producers. The final chapter draws overall conclusions.

The dramatic surge in food prices from 2005 to 2008 seriously threatened the world's poor, who struggle to buy food even under normal circumstances, and led to protests and riots in the developing world. The crisis eventually receded, but such surges could recur unless steps are taken to prevent them. Using up-to-date information, the authors of Reflections on the Global Food Crisis identify the key causes of the food price surge, its consequences for global poverty, and the challenges involved in preventing another crisis. Breaking from many earlier interpretations, the authors conclude that the crisis was not primarily fostered by increased demand for meat products in rising economies such as China and India or by declines in agricultural yields or food stocks, or by futures market speculation. Instead, they attribute the rising food prices to a combination of rising energy prices, growing demand for biofuels, the U.S. dollar depreciation; and various trade shocks related to export restrictions, panic purchases and unfavorable weather. As part of their analysis, the authors also provide the first comprehensive review of both the macroeconomic and microeconomic consequences of the crisis, as well as a detailed comparison of the current crisis with the food price crisis of 1974. To prevent another crisis, the authors conclude that the global food system should be reformed through several key steps: make trade in agricultural commodities more free yet more secure; address long-term threats to agricultural productivity, such as climate change and resource degradation; scale up social protection in potentially food insecure countries; and encourage agricultural production in at least some of the countries now heavily dependent on food imports. Reflections on the Global Food Crisis will be a valuable resource for policymakers, development specialists, and others concerned with the world's poorest people.