This briefing paper reviews evidence of the impacts of the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on food prices, with a focus on corn and soy, and presents new analysis on the impact of the RFS on U.S. livestock farmers. Studies examining the relationship between food prices and biofuel demand conclude …
As a war of words rages over biofuels and their impact on world food supplies, researchers in India are promoting sweet sorghum as a crop that combines the best of both worlds. The plants, which grow three metres high in dry conditions, yield grain that can be eaten by people …
Rationing oil cannot address the larger issue Any proposal to ration oil in view of rising global crude prices could turn out to be a disaster. Imposing a formal allocation system to streamline supply and demand of petrol and diesel would, instead of resolving the problem, encourage hoarding and black-marketeering …
German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Brazil on Wednesday to adopt tougher environmental standards in producing biofuels but said rich nations needed to pay up to help protect rain forests and their biodiversity. Brazil is the world's largest exporter of ethanol, which it derives from sugar cane. Critics say increased production …
in the first week of April, thousands of people stormed the presidential palace in Haiti, throwing stones and demanding the resignation of President Rene Preval over soaring food prices. In reasonably prosperous Malaysia, the ruling coalition was nearly ousted by voters who cited food and fuel price increases as their …
In the first week of April, EU's Scientific Committee called for the suspension of the region's biofuel targets citing food crisis and unavailability of arable land. But on April 21, EU officials stated that the union stood by its target of getting 10 per cent of its road transport fuel …
Did the Nobel Prize committee make a mistake when it gave the 2007 Peace Prize to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and former us vice president Al Gore? I wonder. My disquiet is not because the prize recognized and put climate change at the centre of global debate. It …
Blame your biofuel fixation, not India and China, Bush is told LOGIC and empirical facts do not necessarily form a part of United States President George W. Bush's assertions. Five years ago, he went to war against Iraq to unearth weapons of mass destruction that weren't there. And now, in …
Myanmar is struggling to feed its people in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis -- in part because the regime has been forcing some farmers to stop growing rice in a plan to produce biofuel instead. In 2005 the military government's leader Than Shwe ordered a national drive to plant jatropha, …
A corn-like plant that can grow as high as an elephant's eye on some of Earth's driest farmland shows promise as a "smart" biofuel that won't cut into world food supplies, an agriculture expert said on Monday. Sweet sorghum, used in the United States mostly as animal feed, offers a …
A TEAM of scientists at the Fisheries College and Research Institute (FCRI) at Thoothukudi has successfully extracted bio-fuel from marine micro algae. The extraction of bio-fuel by standardising the research procedure from marine micro algae is a major breakthrough and the FCRI has planned to develop an industrial model for …
Ethanol is taking a tumble. Once hyped as a magic brew for reducing both oil addiction and global warming, alcohol made from corn kernels is now being accused both of triggering a global food crisis and doing more ecological harm than good. Ethanol critics, ranging from environmental groups to pig …
A senior World Bank official said on Thursday that countries should not greatly increase biofuels production until there is more clarity about how much they have contributed to the global food price crisis. Juergen Voegele, director for agriculture and rural development department at the World Bank, cautioned against shifting a …
The issue of increasing ethanol blend in petrol to 10%, from the current level of 5%, has once again fuelled protests from oil marketing Companies. While Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) says that ethanol quantity in domestic market would be insufficient, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is of the view that branded …
A senior World Bank official said on Thursday that countries should not greatly increase biofuels production until there is more clarity about how much they have contributed to the global food price crisis. Juergen Voegele, director for agriculture and rural development department at the World Bank, cautioned against shifting a …
Baltimore: Carolyn Stanley, a single mother with five children, receives $327 in food stamps each month to feed her family. With prices for staples like bread and cheese going ever higher, each month is harder than the last. She buys hot dogs over higher-quality meat and feeds her kids cereal, …
The US favours higher standards of living in developing countries, the White House said on Monday, while sticking to its proposition that increased demand for food in these countries is the principle driver of higher prices across the world.
Did the Nobel Prize committee make a mistake when it gave the 2007 Peace Prize to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and former US Vice President Al Gore? I wonder. My disquiet is not because the prize recognized and put climate change at the centre of global debate. It …
German Minister Stops Biofuel Blending Plans GERMANY: April 7, 2008 BERLIN - German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Friday he had stopped government plans to raise compulsory bioethanol blending levels in fossil gasoline. Politicians and industry groups had criticised the plans to raise the level to 10 percent for …
The United States and Europe should cut back on production of biofuels because they are hurting food supply at a time of rising prices, an adviser to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday. Biofuels derived from crops have come under attack in recent weeks on fears they compete with …
