Food versus Fuel
The global population continues to grow, in places at an alarming rate, and will need to be fed and will expect to live an improved life style, consuming more energy. This raises questions of 'Food versus Fuel'; how much land and other resources are available, how should they be used and what are the priorities?
© FNR 2007
The impact of biofuels on global
food prices has been the subject of considerable discussion and media attention
since 2008. However, the role of biofuels needs to be considered
in an objective way that takes into account other important factors,
such as oil prices, fertiliser costs, rising demand for meat in emerging
economies, demands on land for bioenergy (heat and power) and other bioproducts
(e.g. plant oils for non-food use), rising global populations, the effects
of climate change on agricultural productivity, local market conditions,
and other factors that impact on price and availability of food in
the short and long term.
The issue is covered in the following reports:
Price Volatility in Food and Agricultural Markets (900kb PDF) A report coordinated by FAO and OECD in response ot request from G20, with input from FAO, IFAD, IMF, OECD, UNCTAD,WFP, the World Bank, the WTO, IFPRI and the UN HLTF.
Meals per Gallon (1.0 Mb PDF) Published by Action Aid, January 2010. A report supporting a wider campaign against the expansion of biofuels, particularly first generation.
Sustainability
Standards for Bioenergy (1.5 Mb PDF) – Uwe R. Fritsche, Katja
Hünecke, Andreas Hermann, Falk Schulze and Kirsten Wiegmann with contributions
from Michel Adolphe, Öko-Institut e.V., Darmstadt. Published by WWF
Germany, Frankfurt am Main, November 2006.
Please note that the material in this report is copyright of WWF Germany, Frankfurt am Main and that any reproduction in full or in part of this publication must mention the title and credit the copyright holder.