Biofuel Production Starves The Poor
Two latin American Presidents have stated that biofuel production is harming the worlds poorest people by making food increasingly expensive.
President Alan Garcia of Peru and President Evo Morales of Bolivia have issued this stark warning at the UN in New York while, at the same time, Gordon Brown is busy discussing a European policy that will encourage biofuels.
Increasing worldwide food prices are prompting fears that further development of biofuels production will increasingly impact the production of essential, basic foods.
The EU has set a target of 10% of road transport fuel from crops by the year 2020. To reach this target basic food production will inevitably be affected. The global prices of rice, wheat and maize have more than doubled in the past year and this is, in part, due to land being turned over to biofuels production. Further price increases are expected.
It is the world’s poorest people who are most seriously affected by these price increases. Riots have already taken place in Haiti and instability is arising in many poorer parts of the world including Camaroon, Egypt and Indonesia.
Read More: Biofuels Blog.
For great deals on top of the range hybrid vehicles visit Nationwide Vehicle Contracts, the contract hire, car and van leasing specialists
Written by Hybrid on April 22nd, 2008 with
3 comments.
Do you agree with
Hybrid? Read more
Motoring green eco-friendly news.
#1. April 22nd, 2008, at 11:51 AM.
This is a massive crisis in the making, illustrating the danger of ’shooting from the hip’.
Biofuels are still under debate in the scientific community. But politicians and world leaders are forging ahead. Probably because it makes them look like they’re doing something positive!