But there's a material difference between "attempting, in good faith, to determine what the demand for a commodity will be in the future, and buying based on that" and "attempting to determine what the price of a commodity on the futures market will be and buying based on that".
When people say that a commodity's price is being driven by speculation and gambling, they mean that it has shifted from the former to the latter. This means that the price is disconnected from the actual, physical use of the commodity, and is instead being driven by the inconstant passions of the commodities market itself.
When people say that a commodity's price is being driven by speculation and gambling, they mean that it has shifted from the former to the latter. This means that the price is disconnected from the actual, physical use of the commodity, and is instead being driven by the inconstant passions of the commodities market itself.