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Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumCrop-Based Biofuels Don’t Harm Food Supplies, New Report Finds
Crop-Based Biofuels Dont Harm Food Supplies, New Report FindsThe report was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the World Bank and other groups.
The high-profile expansion of ethanol production in the United States and Brazil, in tandem with a global price spike in food and commodities in 20072008, led many to contend that a causal relationship exists between biofuels expansion and food insecurity, according to the report. The apparent short-term correlations are often cited as evidence of negative impacts of biofuels on food security. There are several problems with such assertions. First, many studies attribute the food price spikes in 2008 primarily to other factors such as oil prices, economic growth, currency exchange rates and trade policies. Speculation in food commodities also contributed to price spikes in 2008 and 2011. Second, the correlations did not persist as global biofuel consumption continued to grow and cereal prices fell or showed distinct patterns over the last six years, driven by oil price, national agricultural policies and exchange rates, the report found.
Among other conclusions, the report noted that while the 2012 U.S. drought caused some ethanol plants to reduce output or temporarily shut, (t)hanks, in part, to the ethanol supply cushion and market flexibility, there was not a notable jump in commodity prices as the 20122013 crop was harvested, despite a drought affecting 80% of U.S. agricultural land.
These findings reflect what many in the academic community and biofuels sector have been saying for some time there is no meaningful relationship between growth in biofuels production and food security or food prices, said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen. U.S. farmers have produced the three largest corn crops in history in the last three years and global grain supplies are at record levels. More grain is available for food and feed use globally today than ever before. Further, one-third of every bushel of grain that enters the ethanol process is enhanced and returned to the feed market in the form of protein-rich distillers grains.
(more)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcbb.12366/full
Abstract
Understanding the complex interactions among food security, bioenergy sustainability, and resource management requires a focus on specific contextual problems and opportunities. The United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals place a high priority on food and energy security; bioenergy plays an important role in achieving both goals. Effective food security programs begin by clearly defining the problem and asking, What can be done to assist people at high risk? Simplistic global analyses, headlines, and cartoons that blame biofuels for food insecurity may reflect good intentions but mislead the public and policymakers because they obscure the main drivers of local food insecurity and ignore opportunities for bioenergy to contribute to solutions. Applying sustainability guidelines to bioenergy will help achieve near- and long-term goals to eradicate hunger. Priorities for achieving successful synergies between bioenergy and food security include the following: (1) clarifying communications with clear and consistent terms, (2) recognizing that food and bioenergy need not compete for land and, instead, should be integrated to improve resource management, (3) investing in technology, rural extension, and innovations to build capacity and infrastructure, (4) promoting stable prices that incentivize local production, (5) adopting flex crops that can provide food along with other products and services to society, and (6) engaging stakeholders to identify and assess specific opportunities for biofuels to improve food security. Systematic monitoring and analysis to support adaptive management and continual improvement are essential elements to build synergies and help society equitably meet growing demands for both food and energy.
Understanding the complex interactions among food security, bioenergy sustainability, and resource management requires a focus on specific contextual problems and opportunities. The United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals place a high priority on food and energy security; bioenergy plays an important role in achieving both goals. Effective food security programs begin by clearly defining the problem and asking, What can be done to assist people at high risk? Simplistic global analyses, headlines, and cartoons that blame biofuels for food insecurity may reflect good intentions but mislead the public and policymakers because they obscure the main drivers of local food insecurity and ignore opportunities for bioenergy to contribute to solutions. Applying sustainability guidelines to bioenergy will help achieve near- and long-term goals to eradicate hunger. Priorities for achieving successful synergies between bioenergy and food security include the following: (1) clarifying communications with clear and consistent terms, (2) recognizing that food and bioenergy need not compete for land and, instead, should be integrated to improve resource management, (3) investing in technology, rural extension, and innovations to build capacity and infrastructure, (4) promoting stable prices that incentivize local production, (5) adopting flex crops that can provide food along with other products and services to society, and (6) engaging stakeholders to identify and assess specific opportunities for biofuels to improve food security. Systematic monitoring and analysis to support adaptive management and continual improvement are essential elements to build synergies and help society equitably meet growing demands for both food and energy.
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Crop-Based Biofuels Don’t Harm Food Supplies, New Report Finds (Original Post)
Bill USA
Jun 2016
OP
scscholar
(2,902 posts)1. So reducing the supply of food...
doesn't reduce the supply of food? This biased study must have been sponsored by a corporation that profits from reducing the supply of food to the people.
Bill USA
(6,436 posts)2. LOL!: I don't usually respond to idiot tweets like yours, but in the interest of fighting ignorance
.. and disinformation.....
from the report:
The average area of cropland used to feed one person has fallen from 0.45 ha in 1961 to 0.22 ha in 2006 (FAO, 2011b) and is projected to be close to 0.19 ha at present, based on FAOStat 2015. At 0.19 ha per capita, 1.7 billion hectares, or about a third of all arable land available today, could feed the population of 9 billion projected for 2050.
and...
Work by Keith L. Kline and Virginia H. Dale was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under the Bioenergy Technologies Office; ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for DOE under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. Harriet K. Mugera was supported by the World Bank. Jeremy Woods was supported by Climate-KIC and Imperial College London. Glaucia M. Souza was supported by a grant from the Sao Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP 2012/23765-0) and a Productivity Fellowship from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). Erica Atkin and Gina Busby are thanked for editorial assistance.
ORNL stands for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a part of the Dept of Energy
[hr]
Here's a fun fact: In the U.S. about 30% to 40% of the food we produce is wasted, ends up in land fills. Now, THERE's something to be concerned about.
Some more from Food Waste: The Facts
Needless to say, the numbers are not promising. But dont be disheartened! As consumers, we can do a lot to change the situation.
Think. Be a smart shopper and think about what you are buying and when it will be eaten. Wasting food is often a subconscious act become aware of how much food you throw away. Plan meals and use shopping lists. Bring your leftovers home from restaurants in reusable containers.
Eat. Become a more mindful eater. Eyes bigger than your stomach? Request smaller portions and become a leftovers guru.
Save. Save your food, save your money and save the environment. Donate to food banks and become a conscious consumer.
Think. Be a smart shopper and think about what you are buying and when it will be eaten. Wasting food is often a subconscious act become aware of how much food you throw away. Plan meals and use shopping lists. Bring your leftovers home from restaurants in reusable containers.
Eat. Become a more mindful eater. Eyes bigger than your stomach? Request smaller portions and become a leftovers guru.
Save. Save your food, save your money and save the environment. Donate to food banks and become a conscious consumer.
SoLeftIAmRight
(4,883 posts)3. i really hate this kind of crap
pissing on rayguns grave does not reduce the cherry harvest in Montana
Bill USA
(6,436 posts)4. oh for the good ol' days when problems were simpler.....
NNadir
(33,368 posts)5. On the other hand, they're hell on natural habitats.
The destruction of Asian rain forest to make palm oil plantations, and the destruction of the Pantanal in South America for Brazilian sugar cane to ethanol plantations both represent irredeemable crimes.