The Top 10 Biofuels Stories of 2008: #8, the Food vs fuel controversy

In the first half of the year, and stampeded of voices cried out against biofuels in the “food vs fuel” debate where biofuels were blamed for the rise in food prices when corn and other commodity ingredients rose dramatically in price.

Jean Ziegler called biofuels “a crime against humanity”, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg predicted global starvation from the US Energy Independence and Security Act, but in the end it was a US-led coalition of environmentalists and food producers that funded a massive lobbying and PR campaign. The campaigns were analyzed in a Biofuels Digest essay, “A vast, chicken-wing conspiracy,” that went through the math on fuel and food costs.

Free Subscription to the Daily Biofuels Digest e-newsletter

Related Stories

UN FAO says wood energy a bad substitute for fossil fuels

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned, in a paper presented at the FAO Conference, against the excessive use of wood energy as an alternative fuel strategy. The report said that fuel...

Food officials dispute that increased Swaziland sugar production will add to food stress

In Swaziland, Irin News is reporting on a controversy over whether soaring sugar prices, that are causing Swaziland farmers to switch to sugar production from other food crops, will add to food stress...

Hot Topics: The latest on Indirect Land Use Change, Low Carbon Fuel Standard

Here are some of the most popular latest stories on Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) that have run in Biofuels Digest: Low Carbon Fuel Standard: CARB votes 9-1 for California Low Carbon Fuel Sta...

Biofuels Digest 2nd Anniversary issue: Top 10 Stories, 10 Most Overlooked, 10 Most Offbeat

Today, BiofuelsDigest.com celebrates its 2nd anniversary with a special look back at: The 10 Most Popular Stories of the Year The 10 Most Overlooked Stories of the Year The 10 Most Offbeat Sto...

Biofuels Digest celebrates first anniversary: Top 10 Stories of the Year; 10 Stories We Should Have Read; 10 Most Offbeat

Today, BiofuelsDigest.com celebrates its first anniversary with a special look back at: The 10 Most Popular Stories of the Year 10 Stories That We Probably Should Have Read The 10 Most Offbea...

“If it’s made from corn, it’s worthy of scorn,” begins Greentech Media’s top 10 biofuels stories of 2008

"If it's made from corn, it's worthy of scorn. If it's made from weeds or trash, it could be worth cash," begins an entertaining round-up of the top 10 biofuels stories of 2008 from Greentech Media's ...