The Onion Futures Act: Outlawing the Agricultural Monopoly. Speculation, Manipulation, and the Ruthless Legislative Battle in the American Commodities Exchange, 1955–1958

In the high-stakes world of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, you can trade futures on gold, oil, wheat, and pork bellies. But it is a federal crime to trade futures on onions. This bizarre legal anomaly is the direct result of one man's terrifyingly successful attempt to hold the American agricultural market hostage. The Onion Futures Act chronicles the ruthless genius of Vince Kosuga, a farmer and trader who cornered the entire national supply of onions in the mid-1950s.
This book exposes the predatory mechanics of market manipulation, detailing how Kosuga artificially inflated prices, crushed his competitors, and dumped millions of pounds of rotting onions into rivers to maintain his monopoly. We analyze the massive public outcry and the swift legislative retaliation that permanently banned this specific commodity from speculative trading. Investors and history buffs will uncover the fragile architecture of free markets and the extreme lengths governments will go to protect basic food supplies from Wall Street.