BIOFUELS AND FOOD SECURITY

2014

The basis for the presented analyses regarding the global market of raw materials for the production of biofuels was mostly statistical data published by the USDA, while statistical materials published by the FAO and F.O. Licht was used, above all, when analysing the global market of biofuels. Other available sources that were used include data from the World Bank. The report also uses a number of pieces of information and opinions published in economic and economic-agricultural literature, regarding the interrelations between the market of biofuels and food security on the global scale (the global perspective). The study is an attempt to take a comprehensive and multifaceted look at problems of the global production of biofuels in the context of the production of bioenergy and food security.

Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2009

The imminent decline of the world's oil production, its high market prices and environmental impacts have made the production of biofuels to reach unprecedent volumes over the last 10 years. This is why there have been intense debates among international organizations and political leaders in order to discuss the impacts of the biofuel use intensification.Besides assessing the causes of the rise in the demand and production of biofuels, this paper also shows the state of the art of their world's current production. It is also discussed different vegetable raw materials sources and technological paths to produce biofuels, as well as issues regarding production cost and the relation of their economic feasibility with oil international prices. The environmental impacts of programs that encourage biofuel production, farmland land requirements and the impacts on food production are also discussed, considering the life cycle analysis (LCA) as a tool.It is concluded that the rise in the use of biofuels is inevitable and that international cooperation, regulations and certification mechanisms must be established regarding the use of land, the mitigation of environmental and social impacts caused by biofuel production. It is also mandatory to establish appropriate working conditions and decent remuneration for workers of the biofuels production chain.

Annals of Tropical Research, 2009

Producing liquid biofuel for cars to address the declining oil supply requires the same resources or inputs (land, water, initial energy or oil, fertilizer and machineries) as in producing food for humans. As early as the 1980s, all the prime lands in the world are already used for agri-and-aquaculture (1970s for the Philippines. Biofuel production consumed water (up to 10,000L of water/L ethanol). At present, 74% of water is used to irrigate food crops. Only 1% water is now used for biofuel but this water consumption will increase to 80% if the biofuel production plan materializes. One out of three individuals in the world is now suffering from water scarcity. Global warming/ global climate change, droughts, more forest fires and high evaporation triggered by high temperature will further magnify the diminishing supply of fresh water both for agriculture and domestic use (household and industries). The simple linear thought is…..more crops for food or biofuel = more lands and water...

International Economics, 2019

One of the most crucial problems in today's world is food insecurity, with nearly 842 million people in the world are estimated to be suffering from not regularly getting enough and healthy food for their life. This issue is likely to be exacerbated by the rapid development of biofuel industry across the globe. Hence, this study investigates the implications of biofuels on food security in 51 developing countries from 2011 to 2016. Applying generalized method of moments (GMM), our results provide supportive evidence that biofuels worsen food security in developing countries. Although our undesirable result is in line with other few past studies, we believe that this result could be the short-term phenomenon and in the long-run, more win-win guidelines for the production of biofuels and food must be provided by the government. ☆ We are grateful to Ministry of Education Malaysia for granting us with financial support to conduct this research under Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) No. 203.PMGT.6711758.

Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 2007

The production of ethanol and biodiesel has been growing rapidly in Brazil, the USA and the EU. Although the current share of overall fuel consumption is quite small, if biofuels become a global mainstream energy source, their production will eventually affect the traditional food and feedstock market. This may cause further problems in already food-insecure nations (mainly developing countries) owing to food price increases. This perspective discusses possible responses to supply variability that developing countries may make to mitigate the odds against them and take advantage of the opportunities offered by price increases through effi cient marketing systems, investing in agricultural research, improving agricultural practices, and developing an extension system focusing on the sustainable use of limited land and renewable resources. Developing technology that can convert cellulosic materials to biofuels effi ciently will also help defuse the demand stress on traditional food supplies worldwide.

2011

With the current phenomena of increasing food and oil prices there is an urgent need to scrutinize the controversial role of biofuels. They have recently been considered as both the promising source of inexpensive and sustainable energy and the underlying reason for soaring agricultural commodity prices. Owing to gradually growing population, that is forecast to reach 9 billion by 2050, and developing countries having higher standard of living, the society is faced with a great challenge of increased demand for food and energy never seen before. This, combined with declining oil reserves and substantial greenhouse gas emissions, has made groups of scientist, policy-makers as well as companies turn to the use of biofuels. The purpose of this paper is to conduct an analysis on the economic and environmental impact of large scale biofuels production with respect to food price spikes, energy-efficiency and carbon-debt issues

California Agriculture, 2008

Journal of Clean Energy Technologies, 2015

Over the last few years, bioenergy production has undergone a process of rapid development, causing significant impacts on the global food system. Among other things, the resulting increase in demand for agricultural products has had important implications for food security. The alleged causal link between bioenergy production and food security has been the subject of increasing debate. Given the complex nature of bioenergy, debates on the matter often lack a solid scientific basis. The endurance of such debates raises the need for more informed and systematic attention to this issue. The present paper identifies some of the main players in this debate and their arguments in favor or against the expansion of biofuel industries. A case study of the Brazilian experience with biofuels will clarify the validity of arguments on both sides of the debate and the potential applicability of the Brazilian biofuel model worldwide.

Energy, 2011

Rapidly growing fossil energy consumption in the transport sector in the last two centuries caused problems such as increasing greenhouse gas emissions, growing energy dependency and supply insecurity. One approach to solve these problems could be to increase the use of biofuels. Preferred feedstocks for current 1st generation biofuels production are corn, wheat, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and sunflowers. The major problem is that these feedstocks are also used for food and feed production. The core objective of this paper is to investigate whether the recent increase of biofuels production had a significant impact on the development of agricultural commodity (feedstock) prices. The most important impact factors like biofuels production, land use, yields, feedstock and crude oil prices are analysed. The major conclusions of this analysis are: In recent years the share of bioenergy-based fuels has increased moderately, but continuously, and so did feedstock production, as well as yields. So far, no significant impact of biofuels production on feedstock prices can be observed. Hence, a coexistence of biofuel and food production seems possible especially for 2nd generation biofuels. However, sustainability criteria should be seriously considered. But even if all crops, forests and grasslands currently not used were used for biofuels production it would be impossible to substitute all fossil fuels used today in transport.

Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 2007

The integration of the agricultural and energy sectors caused by rapid growth in the biofuels market signals a new era in food policy and sustainable development. For the first time in decades, agricultural commodity markets could experience a sustained increase in prices, breaking the long-term price decline that has benefited food consumers worldwide. Whether this transition occurs-and how it will affect global hunger and poverty-remain to be seen. Will food markets begin to track the volatile energy market in terms of price and availability? Will changes in agricultural commodity markets benefit net food producers and raise farm incomes in poor countries? How will biofuels-induced changes in agricultural commodity markets affect net consumers of food? At risk are more than 800 million food-insecure people-mostly in rural areas and dependent to some extent on agriculture for incomes-who live on less than $1 per day and spend the majority of their incomes on food. 1 An additional 2-2.5 billion people living on $1 to $2 per day are also at risk, as rising commodity prices could pull them swiftly into a food-insecure state. The potential impact of a large global expansion of biofuels production capacity on net food producers and consumers in low-income countries presents challenges for food policy planners and raises the question of whether sustainable development targets at a more general level can be reached. 2 Achieving the 2015 Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2000, which include halving the world's undernourished and impoverished, lies at the core of global initiatives to improve human well-being and equity, 3 yet today, virtually no progress has been made toward achieving the dual goals of alleviating global hunger and poverty. The record varies on a regional basis: Gains have been made in many Asia-Pacific and Latin American-Caribbean countries, but progress has been mixed in South Asia, and setbacks have occurred in numerous sub-Saharan African countries. 4 Whether the biofuels boom will move extremely poor countries closer to or further from the Millennium Development Goals remains uncertain.

2009

We examined four evolution paths of the biofuel sector using a partial equilibrium world agricultural sector model in CARD that includes the new RFS in the 2007 EISA, a two-way relationship between fossil energy and biofuel markets, and a new trend toward corn oil extraction in ethanol plants. At one extreme, one scenario eliminates all support to the biofuel sector when the energy price is low, while the other extreme assumes no distribution bottleneck in ethanol demand growth when the energy price is high. The third scenario ...

2007

This paper evaluates the impact of the current biofuels boom on world food markets. We begin with an analysis of the origins of the recent bio-fuel boom -from a US perspective. We conclude this section by predicting a slowing of the ethanol boom in the US, as production satiates the high-value demand for ethanol as an additive so that future growth hinges of its ability to substitute for petroleum products on an energy equivalent basis. This transition is reflected in the elimination of the price premium for ethanol, the price of which has dropped sharply in recent months. This, combined with higher corn prices, has served to curtail most plans for new ethanol capacity -at least for the present.

Energies, 2008

The rapidly growing world population and rising consumption of biofuels are increasing demand for both food and biofuels. This exaggerates both food and fuel shortages. Using food crops such as corn grain to produce ethanol raises major nutritional and ethical concerns. Nearly 60% of humans in the world are currently malnourished, so the need for grains and other basic foods is critical. Growing crops for fuel squanders land, water and energy resources vital for the production of food for human consumption. Using corn for ethanol increases the price of U.S. beef, chicken, pork, eggs, breads, cereals, and milk more than 10% to 30%.

This paper provides microeconomic evidence on food security impacts of privately organized biofuel outgrower schemes in Ethiopia. We conducted a household and community level survey and evaluated the impact of castor bean farming. We use endogenous switching regressions to analyze the impact on food security. Food security (as measured by a "food gap") and food caloric intake is significantly better in households producing castor beans. "Fuel" and "food" are complements rather than substitutes at the micro-level in castor production in Ethiopia.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000