Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

September 6, 2008 1:17:42 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Food vs. Fuel Battle Flares at UN Summit

Posted Jun 4, 08 10:57 AM CDT in Science & Health,  World 

(Newser) – The battle over biofuels is raging at the UN’s food summit in Rome, with nations bitterly divided over whether growing corn and sugar cane for ethanol production is pushing food prices up and helping create disastrous global food shortages. On one side: Food experts who call diversion of crops to fill the fuel tanks of wealthy nations immoral. On the other: the US, Brazil, and the EU, the main players on the biofuel stage.

"Biofuels are not the villain menacing food security in poor countries," Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told assembled heads of state, adding that the soaring price of oil is the larger culprit. The US says ethanol accounts for only 2%-3% of recent food price increases; one food policy analyst tells the BBC the figure is closer to 30%. UN food chief Jacques Diouf says 100 million tons of crops are being used to produce fuel, backed by subsidies in excess of $11 billion dollars." 

Sources BBC, New York Times

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Biofuel Caused Food Crisis: Secret Report

    Jul 4, 08 3:45 PM CDT
    Biofuel Caused Food Crisis: Secret Report Biofuel production has been the driving force behind the growing food crisis, pushing prices up 75%, according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian. The most detailed research ever conducted on the issue emphatically contradicts the US position that biofuels are responsible for a mere 3% price bump. It hasn’t been published, sources say, for fear of embarrassing President Bush. More »

  • UN Chief Urges 50% Boost in Food Production

    Jun 3, 08 7:23 AM CDT
    UN Chief Urges 50% Boost in Food Production UN chief Ban Ki-Moon today called for a 50% rise in world food production by 2030 to fight starvation and civil unrest as the population grows. He spoke at the World Food Security conference in Rome, where world leaders are working to address the highest commodity prices in decades. Such high prices have prompted global riots. “The threats are obvious to us all,” Ban said. More »

  • Leaders Rip Mugabe's 'Obscene' Trip to Food Talks

    Jun 3, 08 3:06 AM CDT
    Leaders Rip Mugabe's 'Obscene' Trip to Food Talks British and Australian ministers have blasted Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's attendance at a world food summit in Rome, charging him with turning his nation from the breadbasket of Africa into a country plagued by food shortages, reports the BBC. They also criticized him for using food aid given to ZImbabwe to further his own political goals. More »

  • World Bank Offers $1.2B in Food Aid

    May 30, 08 6:46 AM CDT
    World Bank Offers $1.2B in Food Aid The World Bank is offering an emergency $1.2 billion in aid to several nations in a desperate bid to stave off starvation for millions of people, reports the BBC. The money is being offered to Haiti, Liberia, Djibouti, Togo, Yemen and other nations identified as at immediate risk from rising food prices. The bank will pour another $2 billion into agricultural programs next year. More »

  • Food Prices May Force Cuts in Farm Subsidies

    May 2, 08 2:32 PM CDT
    Food Prices May Force Cuts in Farm Subsidies Soaring food prices are putting pressure on Congress to withdraw some of the billions in  farm subsidies and ethanol incentives that have been considered politically untouchable for decades, the Los Angeles Times reports. With average farm income more than $89,000 this year—30% above the national average—the White House wants to cut off payments to farmers who earn $500,000 or more. Farm lobbyists are trying to double that. More »

A group of Bangladeshi children return home after collecting rice from a government subsidized outlet at Nawabganj in Dhaka, Bangladesh.   (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)
A group of detained men is carried on a police truck bed after trying to break into a supermarket for looting in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.   (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Pakistani workers hold a rally protesting against a recent price hike in front of Governor House Wednesday, May 28, 2008 in Lahore, Pakistan.   (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Somali women and their children wait to collect food aid at Johar refugee camp, Somalia.   (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi)
Pakistani house wives chant slogans against the government to condemn the recent wave of inflation in Lahore, Pakistan on Wednesday, May 14, 2008.   (AP Photo/K.M.Chaudary)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (1 of 6)

Tags

United Nations  • food prices  • biofuel  • ethanol  • food shortage  • food aid  • food production


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular


Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »