Biofuels Could Strain U.N. Goals of Ending Hunger

Rising production of biofuels from crops might complicate U.N. goals of ending hunger in developing countries, where 850 million people do not have enough to eat, a senior U.N. official said on Wednesday.

“There’s a huge potential for biofuels but we have to look at … competition with food production,” said Alexander Mueller, assistant Director General of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Production of fuels from sugar, maize, soybeans and other corps is surging, spurred by oil prices above $70 a barrel and a drive for more environmentally friendly fuels from renewable sources.

“This is a completely new issue, we only know that this has impact on the question of feeding the world,” he told a news conference during a meeting of 1,500 water experts in Stockholm.

ENN