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 …
CRITICAL food shortages and growing demand for bio-fuels and hydro-electricity, due to high fossil fuel prices, rank among the greatest threats today to the preservation of precious wetlands worldwide as farmers and developers look for new areas for agriculture, energy crop plantations and hydro dams. However, resisting pressure to convert …
Food security has become incresingly important globally as well as at domestic front as the global foodgrain production is not keeping pace with increasing population. Besides the use for human consumption, there is horizontal and vertical diversification of foodgrains particularly towards animal and poultry feed, industrial uses and recently towards …
New reports have rung alarm bells over the net benefits of biofuels, particularly those produced in the Northern hemisphere from feedstocks that could also serve as food and are grown on agricultural land. Trade-related concerns are also becoming more prominent.
While the precise contribution of biofuels to surging food prices is difficult to know, policies promoting production of the current generation of biofuels are not achieving their stated objectives of increased energy independence or reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Reaching the congressionally mandated goal of blending 15 billion gallons of renewable …
This Agricultural Outlook offers an assessment of agricultural markets covering cereals, oilseeds, sugar, meats, milk and dairy products over the period 2008 to 2017. For the first time, it also includes an analysis of and projections for global biofuel markets for bioethanol and biodiesel, facilitating the discussion of interactions between …
This study aims to provide policymakers with an overview of biofuel certification schemes that are already in place or being developed, including: benefits and drawbacks of such schemes; implications for developing countries; and possible ramifications of certification in the context of the World Trade Organization. Certification is seen as an …
What are the impacts of the increasing spread of biofuels on access to land in producer countries, particularly for poorer rural people? Biofuels could revitalise rural agriculture and livelihoods
Ajay Modi / New Delhi July 30, 2008, 0:03 IST The introduction of 10 per cent mandatory blending of ethanol with petrol is unlikely to happen from this October, as decided by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in October 2007. The government has not notified the decision and …
The era of cheap food for Asia is over as surging demand, supply problems and the growing production of biofuels will keep food prices high, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) warned Tuesday. In its latest Asia Economic Monitor report, the Manila-based lender warned that while previous food price surges were …
Makarand Gadgil / Mumbai July 22, 2008, 3:32 IST There is a big buzz around ethanol blending with petrol as it is seen as providing relief for the consumers of this scarce commodity when international prices have seen unprecedented spike in the last few months. But ethanol manufacturers are an …
Shastry V. Mallady MADURAI: A bio-diesel plant, with a capacity to produce 1,000 litres a day, has been sanctioned for the State by the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi. Southern Railway is likely to buy the product from the plant. The Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and …
Terry Macalister Last month, OPEC warned western countries that their efforts to develop bio-fuels to combat climate change risked driving the price of oil through the roof. The global bio-fuels sector has launched a ferocious attack on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil cartel by accusing it …
Aalgae, the saviour? AFP OSLO AS THE world mulls the question of how to satisfy a seemingly endless appetite for energy and still slash greenhouse gas emissions, researchers have stumbled upon an unexpected hero: algae. So-called micro algae hold enormous potential when it comes to reining in both climate change, …
Sujay Mehdudia Owing to political instability at the Centre NEW DELHI: With international crude oil prices touching a whopping $147 a barrel, the search for alternative sources has intensified. However, the political uncertainty over the India-U.S. nuclear deal has delayed the announcement of a bio-fuel policy, outlining incentives for those …
In their reports in the 29 February issue ("Land clearing and the biofuel carbon debt," J. Fargione et al., p. 1235, and "Use of U.S. croplands for biofuels increases greenhouse gases through emissions from land-use change," T. Searchinger et al., p. 1238), the authors do not provide adequate support for …
Food is a priority for the world A secret World Bank report has nailed the lie that the biofuels policy of the developed countries led by the US and the UK has not contributed to the international food crisis. Most of the world, including India, is convinced that the policy, …
