World Food Shortage Linked Directly to Fuel

In case you haven't been watching the news, catastrophic food shortages have hit many countries, mostly in the developing world. There are many culprits, including severe drought in certain regions and population growth in China and India, but two of the most important factors directly relate to what you put in your gas tank.

The skyrocketing price of oil has hit the global economy hard. Think about it: How is food transported all around the world? Mostly in trucks and ships that require diesel fuel, which has hit records highs (in the U.S. over $4 per gallon). It has become vastly more expensive to transport food. The cost of rice, for example, has seen an explosive increase of 75% in just two months, with the result being food riots in countries like Haiti, Indonesia, Cameroon and the Philippines.

The second factor, and the one the Western world bears the most responsibility for, is biofuel—specifically corn ethanol. According to a World Development Report authored by the World Bank, it takes 528 pounds of corn to fill the tank of one SUV. This same amount could feed one person for a year. Additionally, as more and more corn and farmland is diverted to fuel production, it drives up the price of other foods. According to a report on National Public Radio, Europe is reconsidering its heavy investment in biofuels in light of the food shortage. Perhaps it's time for the U.S. to take a look at its policy as well.

World's New Crisis: Soaring Food Prices (Business Day)

Comments

[Happymantis]

Ethanol is nothing more than a political ploy by our politicians to court votes in farming states, and aside from a disastrous waste of taxpayer money, has turned out to have an extremely high moral cost.

[Eric]

Happymantis is dead on.

Corn biofuel is not the answer to the high oil prices. Converting corn into biofuel takes 5 times as much energy as the fuel itself produces. This is basically a windfall installed by and created for the corn lobby.

Even if biofuel wasn't so destructive on food prices, soil, and the rainforests (look up ADM's slash and burn corn farming in south america) corn would be the wrong way to get it... sugar cane has an order of magnitude better energy conversion rate, but you can't really farm that effectively here in America, so nevermind that.

Solving the energy crisis is a long way off, but the most important thing we need to go after is how to safely and effectively store power. The reason we can't go to straight wind or solar is because such systems would be crippled at peak load. If we can store surpluses of power for use during the night, or times when wind is low then the inherent problem in wind and solar has been solved, not to mention efficient power storage will allow us to power our cars with renewable power(cars! the actual subject of this blog, Hooray!)

[Al]

This was so blatantly obvious that only a politician could miss the ramifications.

Over the decades they have repeatedly ignored the fuel warnings, favored the trucking lobby groups, diminished rail transportation in favor of petroleum-dependent and more dangerous road transportation and now they are setting up a competition for fuel verses food.

The cost of fuel is now exponentially built into the cost of food.

How ridiculously stupid can you get.

[ilija]

Another example of politics winning over common sense. Will we ever learn?

[Don]

I hate to say it but my party shares equal blame with the Repubs. We made it difficult or impossible to:
1. drill off the coast of CA and in Alaska
2. build new refineries
3. build nuclear reactors

We are reaping what we sowed with high gas prices. Thank the ignorant politicians who often has zero business experience, little leadership skills, and a huge void when it comes to setting a plan and execution strategy for the future. Both parties are guilty as charged, yet the American people are serving the sentence. Thank God I am debt free with no car, credit card, or mortgage payment so the price of gas does not have the same impact. I feel for the average family.

[sczech]

Do you really think that if there was just more gasoline refineries right now that we would be okay for the future? Or if we drilled for more oil? I would say that sounds pretty short sighted. The thing that ethanol does, and in a very limited way, is that it offers another means of fueling a car. Hopefully, I am praying, that will lead to another way of producing a new fuel. While I think the solution may lie in more sources of electricity, I hope that does not lead to more nuclear power.

[Infosaur]

You know,,, nukes are a pretty good way to make hydrogen. I'm just saying is all.

(Iran and N.Korea have built more reactors in my lifetime than the US has)

[Michael D.]

There is no shortage of oil but there is a shortage of refining capacity. That's the #1 reason why gas prices are high. Simple supply and demand. It never ceases to amaze me how uneducated the American public can be at times.

Infosaur is right on the money with the USA not building any nuclear reactors of recent. Exelon out of Chicago is finalizing a nuclear reactor in South Africa that produces zero nuclear waste. The reason they couldn't build it in the USA is the environmental nut jobs who can't be reasoned with. After the South African gov was assured in writing that there was no nuclear waste produced - backed up by an independent study from a leading environmental French company - the gov of SA said "Build it!". Now France is having four built themselves and they'll all come online in the next 25 months. By then how many additional refineries and nuclear reactors will the USA have? Zero

Thank you Dems and Repubs!

[sczech]

Michael D.,

Perhaps you haven't seen the news reports lately where the refineries themselves have said they are cutting production because the profit margins aren't high enough? And there is no shortage of oil? While there may be oil now it is still a non-renewable source. That means there was a shortage the moment we started using it, it just depends on how much we can pay for it.

Also, I don't see how environmental nut jobs could shut down a project like a nuclear reactor when they can't stop power lines from being built, anywhere. The lobbying power for nuclear is much greater than that for groups like greenpeace. I think that is evident throughout the latest administration.

Please if you could, post a link about the nuclear reactor that produces zero waste, I am very interested in reading about that.

[Skinner]

"It takes 528 pounds of corn to fill the tank of one SUV. This same amount could feed one person for a year."
That is just obscene.

[Herb Wexler]

How come I never see any articles encouraging people to drive less?

[Herb Wexler]

How come I never see any articles encouraging people to drive less?

[Dorothy]

Bio-Fuel is not the only product diverting much needed corn away from food products and feed meal needed for raising animals like chickens and cows. PLA/Corn Plastic is another energy sucking product that politicians and environmental activists are shoving down the collective markets' throats while ignoring the real sustainability needs of the bigger picture - specifically taking care of the earth and also the people on it. The fact is that bio-engineered plastics are more expensive than PVC, require more fuel to make than PVC, and literally are taking food out of production and making packaging for food more expensive - unlike PVC. Also PVC packaging is 100% recyclable. I understand that these Bio-Plastics often don't even degrade unless they are transported to specialized landfills and treated with microbes. In a regular landfill, they may be just long term litter like the rest of the garbage. Furthermore, when accidentally mixed with recyclable plastics like PVC, bio-plastic contaminates the otherwise recyclable batch. So, why is the market being pressed to adopt more expensive, more energy intensive to make, bio-plastics that are literally taking food out of the market and raising both food and packaging prices, when clean, recyclable energy efficient, cost friendly alternatives, like PVC plastics are a better solutions for many consumer packaging applications.

[cbk16]

If we had been able to drill into Alaska like the Rebublicans wanted earlier in the decade, the oil and food issues would not have been a crisis right now, this would have kept the crisis off for a few years so we would have more time. I don't think we should be sending more Democrates to solve this issue, since the Domocrates created this problem.

[Mart]

More time is no good. All more time does is delays anybody making a decision. The destruction of pristine environment to delay SAVING that said environment is not what we need.