Brazilian President: biofuels do not force “a choice between food and energy…the problem with world hunger is not a shortage of food but a shortage of income.”

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva continued his global offensive on behalf of sugarcane ethanol and biofuels with an address at the UN summit on climate change. He strongly defended Brazil against accusations of poor environmental stewardship and the suggestion that biofuel production causes food shortages.

He has pointed out that only 20 percent of arable land in Brazil is currently under cultivation and less than 4% is used for ethanol. “This is not a choice between food and energy,” he said. “The problem with world hunger is not a shortage of food but a shortage of income.” Lula has pointed out that biofuel industry creates higher paying jobs than traditional agriculture. “When we think about ethanol, we think about helping the poor, helping countries like ours out of poverty,” he said.

However, critics point out that while sugar cane workers make $1.35 per hour, twice the wages of other agricultural workers, 312 sugar cane or ethanol workers died on the job between 2022 and 2005, and nearly 83,000 suffered on the job accidents.

Oil and natural gas producers Venezuela and Bolivia have criticized ethanol production for increasing food prices and world hunger. Bolivia, Venezuela and Cuba are supporting a draft report by the UN special rapporteur on the Right to Food, calling for a five-year moratorium on ethanol production produced from sugar cane that is expected to be debated in the UN General Assembly and cause Brazil considerable embarassment.