Who shall inherit biofuel?
Biofuels are being touted as the new panacea for climate problems. But because this fuel from plants is being introduced without much thought about wider implications, it's becoming a good idea practised badly.
There are two kinds of biofuel: ethanol, processed from sugarcane or corn, and biodiesel, made from biomass. Climate-savvy Europe gave the first push to biofuel, mandating that it should contribute 6 per cent of fuels used in vehicles by 2010 and 10 per cent by 2020. Farmers were given subsidies to grow crops for fuel. The bulk of European biodiesel comes from domestically grown rapeseed. But to meet its growing needs, Europe is looking to import soyabean-based fuel from Brazil and Argentina and palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia.
us President George Bush in 2007 called for production of 132 billion litres of biofuel by 2017, to cut dependence on foreign fuel.The us's favourite biofuel is ethanol, which it produces from corn starch. Brazil, the world's largest ethanol producer, uses sugarcane.
What does this switch of land from growing food to fuel mean for nutrition security? More important, will this strategy work against climate change?
In late 2006, Mexico experienced tortilla wars, as people found the price of their staple, corn, had doubled. The hike was a result of the crop's new market as vehicle fuel and corporate control over it