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Biuofuels came under attack at a conference in Washington DC over the weekend, as poor nations blame the Western focus on ethanol production for rising food prices that are causing riots and political instability in some parts of the world.<\/p>\nBiuofuels came under attack at a conference in Washington DC over the weekend, as poor nations blame the Western focus on ethanol production for rising food prices that are causing riots and political instability in some parts of the world.<\/p>\n
“Many specialists in food policy consider government mandates for biofuels to be ill advised, agreeing that the diversion of crops like corn into fuel production has contributed to the higher prices. But other factors have played big roles, including droughts that have limited output and rapid global economic growth that has created higher demand for food,” says an article in the International Herald Tribune<\/a>. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In fact, rising demand for meat in China and India is another factor playing a major role in rising food prices. Ethanol defenders highlight that this is being ignored by those pointing the finger at biofuels. One such comment was made by Iowa’s Republican Senator Charles E. Grassley.The statement is true, but, coming from an American, is reeks of hypocrisy since America is the biggest meat consumer in the world. Perhaps the senator should consider a way of decreasing meat production in his own territory (Americans eat one million animals per hour), which would free up quite a lot of grain to feed humans and avoid suffering for billions of animals.<\/p>\n The discussion highlights two important points: a) land-cropped biofuels are far from being the best alternative to fossil fuels and b)reducing consumption of energy is of paramount importance. Simply replacing ‘dirty’ energy with ‘cleaner’ alternatives will not do. The Western world needs to rediscover frugality. And drastically reduce meat consumption.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRelated Posts:<\/h3>