US Survey Ties Biofuels to High Food Costs, Hunger

Six in 10 Americans believe the use of corn to make ethanol has raised food prices and caused more people to go hungry, the latest evidence of a growing global backlash against alternative “green” fuels.

The Hormel Hunger Survey released on Monday also showed 53 percent of Americans polled believe government subsidies for ethanol production will help reduce US dependence on foreign oil, but nearly as many — 47 percent — oppose the subsidies because they increase food prices.


Last week Jean Ziegler, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, called for a five-year moratorium on biofuels, saying it was a “crime against humanity” to convert food crops to fuel at a time when there are more than 850 million hungry people in the world.

The findings were based on an Internet survey of 807 Americans conducted Sept. 25-30 in conjunction with America’s Second Harvest, a food bank network. Hormel Foods, a Minnesota-based meat processor, sees the direct effects of corn price rises, since corn is the main US livestock feed.

Reuters