Tuesday, April 15, 2008

World Bank Weighs in on Biofuels Impact on Food

clipped from www.topnews.in
WorldbankWashington- Efforts by industrialized countries to reduce their dependence on foreign energy sources and cut climate-changing emissions has prompted a strong backlash from some developing nations dealing with a worsening food crisis.
The problem lies in bio-fuels, an alternative source of energy that is often made from food crops. The World Bank last week said that a boost in bio-fuels production was largely to blame for an 83- per-cent increase in food prices over the last three years.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the World Bank's sister-lender, the International Monetary Fund, said that many ministers expressed similar concerns to him privately over the weekend - some labelling food-to-fuel production a "crisis of humanity."
Wheat, soy and palm oil prices have all been hit by increased bio- fuel production, the World Bank said.
"While many are worried about filling their gas tanks, many others around the world are struggling to fill their stomachs," Zoellick said Thursday. (dpa)
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New York, New York, United States
I am a consultant in the alternative fuels industry focusing on waste-to-fuel, cellulosic biomass and coal conversion technology.