Biofuel – Food Connection

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Are food supply shrinking because of biofuel production? Consider this: About 25% of the US corn crop goes into ethanol production: A US law mandates a minimum of 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol by 2015, an amount that could cut up nearly all of the US crop, according to experts.

This scenario is taking on a bad rap for proponents of biofuels. “Burning food today to serve the mobility of rich countries is a crime against humanity, “said Jean Ziegler, a special rapporteur on the Right to Food for the United Nations, quoted in Time.com in its April 28 issue.

Critics for the food-to-fuel mandates say ethanol production actually requires more energy than it generates, creates hazardous by-products, and wreaks havoc on the food and feed supply chain, shrinking supplies while driving up prices.

Proponents of the biofuels counter: ” Biofuels are not the villains threatening the food security of the poorer nations, ” says Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from Brazil , quoted in the Time.com article.Reid Detchon, executive director of think tank Energy Future Coalition, says, ” I think the sudden rise in price of food has people looking for causes, and biofuels are a convenient scapegoat.”

Are biofuels the scapegoat?