A group of US student protesters are seeking to repeal a law banning the trading of onion futures.
As student protests turn violent in France and fears are raised of similar chaos on Britain's streets, a group of University of Chicago students have turned their attention to a problem they feel could actually be solved - the ban on onion futures trading.
Adam Ash, the founder of protest group For Our Futures, told GB News why they felt now was the time to take action.
He said: "I was chatting with a few friends one evening over dinner and we were mentioning how we were quite disappointed about how so much of our political discourse has been about these very abstract ideals - Utopia, almost - these issues where there isn't a silver bullet to actually solve them.
"And it's leaving so many people feeling unsatisfied, lacking faith in our democracy and its ability to create solutions for our country and our people.
"And we were curious - could we create a movement that would actually look into the ability to tangibly create solutions for average people in America - even if it's only a few people - and even if that solution is of only marginal benefit?"
The group has held demonstrations outside the university's main quadrangle, chanting slogans including "1958 out of date. Let our onions speculate".
Onions are the only agricultural product that is explicitly banned from having its futures contracts traded in the US.
The Onion Futures Act of 1958 was signed by Dwight D Eisenhower in response to the actions of two traders who cornered the onion market in Chicago.
But Mr Ash said the law was now "entirely out of date", and the conditions that allowed for the Chicago onion monopoly to exist are "not capable of being reproduced today".
He said: "Firstly, we exist in a far more global agricultural context.
"So in the event that the American market goes downhill, American farmers can sell abroad.
PROTESTS ACROSS THE GLOBE:
- Female British tourist suffers serious injury in France riots as projectile 'tears off her calf'
- Nigel Farage backs deploying British Army if 'intolerant' left holds French-style riots in UK
- French PM calls for curfews to tackle 'violent ultra-left rioters' after another night of chaos
"In addition, we have better preservation technology for onions. So an onion farmer doesn't just simply have to sell immediately.
"You can wait. You can time the market."
Mr Ash argued that the US Government at the time passed the legislation as a way to avoid dealing with the larger issue of market manipulation.
"Imagine there's an accident on a highway, and instead of trying to look into vehicle safety or general highway safety, you just shut down that highway," the student said. "That is effectively what happened here."
Members of the protest group parade around with a giant onion mascot and hold placards reading "one giant leek for mankind", "re-peel the ban" and "hot girls hedge onions", but they insist their movement is serious.
Mr Ash said: "I frankly don't see why people think that this is satirical. We are a serious movement.
"We come from the University of Chicago. This is a university that preaches the gospel of Milton Friedman."
He added: "We love the free market, and we love America."
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A group of US student protesters are seeking to repeal a law banning the trading of onion futures.
As student protests turn violent in France and fears are raised of similar chaos on Britain's streets, a group of University of Chicago students have turned their attention to a problem they feel could actually be solved - the ban on onion futures trading.
Adam Ash, the founder of protest group For Our Futures, told GB News why they felt now was the time to take action.
He said: "I was chatting with a few friends one evening over dinner and we were mentioning how we were quite disappointed about how so much of our political discourse has been about these very abstract ideals - Utopia, almost - these issues where there isn't a silver bullet to actually solve them.
"And it's leaving so many people feeling unsatisfied, lacking faith in our democracy and its ability to create solutions for our country and our people.
"And we were curious - could we create a movement that would actually look into the ability to tangibly create solutions for average people in America - even if it's only a few people - and even if that solution is of only marginal benefit?"
The group has held demonstrations outside the university's main quadrangle, chanting slogans including "1958 out of date. Let our onions speculate".
Onions are the only agricultural product that is explicitly banned from having its futures contracts traded in the US.
The Onion Futures Act of 1958 was signed by Dwight D Eisenhower in response to the actions of two traders who cornered the onion market in Chicago.
But Mr Ash said the law was now "entirely out of date", and the conditions that allowed for the Chicago onion monopoly to exist are "not capable of being reproduced today".
He said: "Firstly, we exist in a far more global agricultural context.
"So in the event that the American market goes downhill, American farmers can sell abroad.
PROTESTS ACROSS THE GLOBE:
- Female British tourist suffers serious injury in France riots as projectile 'tears off her calf'
- Nigel Farage backs deploying British Army if 'intolerant' left holds French-style riots in UK
- French PM calls for curfews to tackle 'violent ultra-left rioters' after another night of chaos
"In addition, we have better preservation technology for onions. So an onion farmer doesn't just simply have to sell immediately.
"You can wait. You can time the market."
Mr Ash argued that the US Government at the time passed the legislation as a way to avoid dealing with the larger issue of market manipulation.
"Imagine there's an accident on a highway, and instead of trying to look into vehicle safety or general highway safety, you just shut down that highway," the student said. "That is effectively what happened here."
Members of the protest group parade around with a giant onion mascot and hold placards reading "one giant leek for mankind", "re-peel the ban" and "hot girls hedge onions", but they insist their movement is serious.
Mr Ash said: "I frankly don't see why people think that this is satirical. We are a serious movement.
"We come from the University of Chicago. This is a university that preaches the gospel of Milton Friedman."
He added: "We love the free market, and we love America."
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter
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