| Biofuels Threatening Global Food Security |
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| Written by Heather McKee | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, 07 April 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Besides the fact that biofuels are creating massive carbon debts, the conversion of food crops to biofuels is really screwing with global food prices. Envirovore told you what happens when grain prices skyrocket – from Canadian bakeries going belly-up to the Egyptian military baking bread to avoid riots. Now forty people in Cameroon, four people in Haiti and one in the Ivory Coast have been killed in food riots. Workers in Argentina are striking. In Vietnam, grain exports are being banned, and farmers who hoard grains prosecuted.
The World Bank reports that 33 countries “face unrest from higher prices in food and energy.” Rising grain prices are being felt most in poorer countries where more of each person’s dollar is spent on food.
The implications of the surge in corn and cane-based ethanol crops are becoming clearly more nightmarish each day. We have been worried about our ability to “feed the world” since the 1950s – so how can using arable land for fuel crops even possibly seem like a good idea?
Wake up folks - affordable food is hitting the road as fast as we fill up our cars with biofuels.
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It's true what our moms said...we are what we eat. In fact, it's truer than they thought. What I eat doesn't just affect me anymore, it affects all of us.
Unfortunately, the story of food can sometimes be complicated. But envirovores help each other out...which is why this blog will be bringing you news, tips, and information about food and the environment every step of the way.
