Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 10017 tics, there is no doubt that food’s price volatility has been significantly below that of domestic energy and food in the developing world. Investment If food is plentiful and prices are relatively stable and if food is only a small part of peoples’ bud- gets, what else could possibly keep it “under the radar?” Another reason why food goes unnoticed is be- cause agriculture and food are not an observable focus for retail investors. Some of the biggest agriculture companies – both producers and distributors such as Cargill – are privately owned. And investment in farmland is often made through institutional investors such as insurance companies and pension funds. In the publicly traded stock market, the Morn- ingstar Global Equity Classification Structure includes sectors for Real Estate, Healthcare, Energy, Technology and Financial Services. There is no sector for “Agriculture” or “Food and Farming.” If you drill down into the sectors, you’ll find that food-related businesses are spread throughout several sector classifications. Take a look at our list of publicly traded US stocks related to the following segments: agribusiness, farmland REITs, equipment & supply, distribu- tion & groceries, food & beverage, and restau- rants. You can see how they are spread across various sector classifications. See: Food Stocks by Sector & Segment (at the end of this section) As more retail investment has shifted into mutual funds and ETFs, sporadic attempts to create in- vestment vehicles in food-related equities or agri- cultural commodities have not lasted or attracted significant investment. Interestingly, Motif In- vesting now has several food-related ETFs which offer the retail investor a way to track various se- lections of food-related stock price performance. See: Rising Food Prices ETF (at the end of this section) Under no circumstances, however, should we ignore the serious problems in agriculture and food systems in both the developed and develop- ing worlds. Indeed, some of these issues are ad- dressed below. Hopefully, we will be inspired to think about the role and importance of food in our economy and to ask (with the many changes currently underway) whether or not our relation- ship with food is about to change. II. The Importance of Models We organize our society – and, with it, our governance, culture, industries and enterprises – around “models.” These are the agreed upon rules, practices, and protocols of how we operate. As a computer has an “operating system” which is compatible with individual functions and programs, a society has a model of how it will operate. The management of these func- tions and programs must be compatible. When a society changes its model, the component parts must either be compatible or adjust. If all the parts are not compatible, a society can literally tear itself apart or fail. One of the reasons why successful models are important is that they contribute to economic productivity. Successful models inspire produc- tive alignment between different people, func- tions and activities. As a result, the investment of our time and energy is optimal. To use a metaphor, if we are waltzing on the ballroom floor, problems are created when a group breaks away and starts a square dance in the same room at the same time – the music and the movements are not compatible. We begin to bump into each other and to miss the beat. And tempers are likely to flare! If you watch the Sir James Goldsmith video posted in our commentary introducing the 2016 Annual Wrap Up, you will hear Gold- smith’s description in 1994 of our then future plans to industrialize agriculture in the devel- oping world as part of the globalization efforts begun with the creation of the WTO: “The idea is to create what is known today as efficient agriculture and to impose it worldwide. Let me just give you one [impact] of GATT on the third world. The idea of GATT is that the “Hopefully, we will be inspired to think about the role and im- portance of food in our economy and to ask whether or not our relationship with food is about to change. ”