Biofuel Scapegoating: Not That Simple

by Andrea Millar — April 24, 2008

A while back, we reported on the quandary presented by continued biofuel production vis-à-vis the food shortage. The theory is this: basically, the wheat that could feed millions of people is now being passed up by farmers in favor of soy and corn used primarily in environmentally dubious biofuel operations. Thus, a crisis in food. Millions across the world grow hungrier, and chances are good that your last loaf of bread was more expensive than you would have liked.

I'm not saying that one doesn't have something to do with the other, but I would be more cautious with that itchy trigger finger of blame. Clayton B. Cornell at Gas2.org recently blogged on this very touchy subject and concluded that while there is a correlation between the two, it's worthwhile to broaden our focus a little more. With the help of Brent Searle, an official from the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Cornell lists the factors of an expanding world population, regional drought, dollar decline, and corporate profit, among others. Oh, and in case you hadn't noticed, gas prices have gone up slightly in the past 12 months. I would add to that the vagaries of the agricultural market in general, where wheat has long been priced so low that farmers would be at a loss to produce it if it weren't for government subsidies--it comes in at the #3 spot just under feed grains and cotton at just over 1.1 billions of dollars of USDA funding (stats here).

Perhaps soon we'll see further discussion of the behemoth that the problem of distribution represents in the food supply equation. Although perfectly usable food piles up in dumpsters across more affluent countries (yes, even now, during the crisis), this may be an ideal time to re-examine the efficacy of food aid packages and to come up with more effective solutions.

For more on this, also check out the recent speech by Mariann Fischer Boel, Member of the European Commission Responsible for Agriculture and Rural Development, at the 2008 World Biofuels Markets Congress.