well... it's only dull in the sense that it isn't in a state of crisis. it really IS rather important, since it is the feature of the economic model that has augmented the notion of 'the west' to allow for a quality of life, and not just a set of shared values, ideas, and cultures. Its' level of performance depends on persistently trying to keep the channels open and resisting trade barriers.
It also is the great untold story of 3rd world poverty elimination.
It's also something that needs to be placed out of the reach of potential manipulation by NGOs representing a small number of people who want to remand it for their social causes and political movements. To say that the proposals of 'anti-globalization' types would have no effect is a fallacy: it would cause mass poverty. The food and oil problems at present are only a taste of what happens when markets are limited or manipulated. To further 'deglobalize' food production would only guarantee a permanent disaster.

The thin intellectual backing behind anti-globalization/ anti-mondialisms and their multicontinent headbreaking doesn't actually supposrt what your saying, and it they're in any position to say "I told you so", it's because a broken clock can be right twice a day.

Markets should and would have not anticipated a coming shortfall based on their failed and loony narrative, because it was not in the terms that anyone could take seriously. Moreover, markets can't anticipate a reduction in future supply potential when there really isn't one. The basic borblems are these:

1) OPEC is propping up the price by keeping the deliveries just below demand.

2) Much of the oil distilates are priced artificially becuase they're subsidised in places like China, Indonesia, Iran, etc. This removes from the equasion a percentage of consumptuion which doesn't just not adapt to the price, but causes outside players to move business activity to those area and generate a roundabout run on a product.

3) A rising commodity sees money rushing into it, accounting for about 15% of its' inflated pricing.

4) You would be hard pressed to find an environmentalist economist who sees the economy as anything other than an interest, point of reference, or target for their theories about environment. In other words they take on as a matter of some form of virtue a narrow point of view blind to every other feature of human life and activity.
Looking at the "Environmental Economist", make the "environmentalist" a General, and see how you feel about the veracity of having that narrow a focus and perspective on it.

And while you're at it, see how many people you can kill off with high food prices resulting directly from the cost of energy, and imagine what sort of hideousness the distraction that focussing too much on the environmentalists' interests, world view, and unstated agenda has done.