Biofuels not responsible for food crisis?

[Cricket Tragic]

Originally Posted by screener

When you say that prices have increased more than input costs where you live, what crops are you talking about, over what span of time, and do you mean only if this crop doesn't have problems with the many weather variables? then I could agree with that.

screener, wheat price paid to farmers has doubled in less than 2 years. Canola is at $700 per tonne, more than double what it was 3 years ago. For inputs, glyphosate price has doubled, but most other products are only 10 to 20% higher. Fertilizer has risen about 60% and fuel about 40%.

The break even yield on a wheat crop is now about 0.4 T/ha and for canola about 0.6 T/ha. Not bad.

[spadlet]

Originally Posted by Wobs

Meadowhall out of town shopping centre (mall) is actually one of the better ones transport-wise, as they have a bus station, tram stop, and train station.

I was thinking more of Trafford Centre with that one. Oh and all of the trips women at work go on about, comparing the out of town Laura Ashley with the on in the city centre etc.

[Wobs]

Originally Posted by spadlet

I was thinking more of Trafford Centre with that one. Oh and all of the trips women at work go on about, comparing the out of town Laura Ashley with the on in the city centre etc.

Went there once (shudders at the thought).

[Emmanuel70]

Originally Posted by Rog

I don't suppose they are solely responsible, but they're certainly not helping matters.

I agree. A number of factors came into play bringing us to this pass. Hoarding, government interference, etc. Here are some insights from this popular Business Week article "Understanding the Global Rice Crisis."

[prashamk]

Brazil has denied that ethanol or other biofuels have not caused the current Food Crisis


http://www.its2hot.in/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=122

[flashgordon]

Much of the food crisis seems to be like that of oil - increased demand can be blamed for some of the increase, but it seems to be more the result of speculators and the market. Especially since you can make ethanol and other biofuels from non-food based products such as municipal waste and the like.

[TruePurple]

Well I have heard that the price of oil and fuel is partially behind the rise in food prices. In which case biofuel by adding to the fuel supply and keeping down prices also helps keep down the cost in food. Which may or may not be cancled out in part by the increased food demand.

I'm not sure why so much ethanol is reportedly made out of corn, since there are much more efficient crops to make it from, from what I understand.

[flashgordon]

I agree, I don't know why so much ethanol is made out of corn, or why that should even be such a big deal. In the making of ethanol, at least in what are called "closed" production systems, the protein and bulk parts of corn can still be used after the starch has been converted into ethanol. So, in these systems, one can potentially make ethanol and then still use the corn for feed. But like you said, why use corn at all - ethanol can be made from grass, municipal waste, anything that has a sugar in it that can be converted into an alcohol. No need to use corn at all.

[prashamk]

@flashgordon: Your post is news to me. Can you please elaborate and post a few links to support your post? I am not doubting your post.

[flashgordon]

Well, for a discussion by two MIT scientists on the development of cellulosic ethanol: MIT experts foresee sustainable ethanol production - MIT News Office. This is large scale they are talking about - there are already a couple small plants experimenting with this type of ethanol. Likewise, there are several closed system plants being built in the midwest. A good book on this can be found here: Great New Books that Are a Must Read: Sustainable Ethanol: The Future of Energy Production?