Analysis: one-quarter of U.S. grain crop feeds cars instead of people

Mostly corn

Vilas Bhuchar, Jan 29, 10.

One-quarter of corn and grain crops grown in the U.S. ends up as biofuel in cars rather than being used to feed people, according to an Earth Policy Institute analysis of 2009 US Department of Agriculture figures. The report suggests that the biofuel revolution launched by former President George Bush in 2007 is impacting world food prices, according to The Guardian.

The story says Bush challenged farmers, in 2007, to increase the by 500% by 2017 production of grains, mostly corn, that would be blended with petrol to cut oil imports and reduce carbon emissions. In effect, the story notes, US farmers grew 107m tons of grain in 2009, nearly twice as much as in 2007.

Lester Brown, director of the Earth Policy Institute (a Washington think-tank), believes the growing demand for US ethanol derived from grains helped to push world grain prices to record highs between late 2006 and 2008 and is quoted as saying:

Continuing to divert more food to fuel, as is now mandated by the US federal government in its renewable fuel standard, will likely only reinforce the disturbing rise in world hunger. By subsidizing the production of ethanol to the tune of some $6bn each year, US taxpayers are in effect subsidizing rising food bills at home and around the world

On the other hand, biofuel producers reject the idea that increased production of biofuels lowers world food supplies. Tom Buis, chief executive of the industry group Growth Energy, is quoted as saying:

Continued innovation in ethanol production and agricultural technology means that we don’t have to make a false choice between food and fuel. We can more than meet the demand for food and livestock feed while reducing our dependence on foreign oil through the production of homegrown renewable ethanol.

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