Jobe Weighs in on AEI Food versus Fuel Discussion
NBB CEO says accuracy and context are important when discussing food issues.
Compiled by staff
Published: Jul 3, 2008
The American Enterprise Institute held a conference Wednesday in which the global food crisis was discussed. Biofuels were part of the discussion, and National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe responded on the conference.
"The National Biodiesel Board welcomes any discussion on the crises of energy, food and climate, including the one featured at a conference sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute," Jobe says. "That discussion, which continues throughout the country and the international community, should be based on information that is both accurate and contextual. Research conducted by the USDA and other experts overwhelmingly concludes that the demand for biofuels-related feedstock plays a very small role in global food supply and pricing."
According to Jobe with gas prices skyrocketing past $4 a gallon the addition of biofuels to our fuel supply is actually helping to keep fuel prices from rising at an even faster pace. He also stated that biodiesel production uses a small portion of the nation's soybeans.
"More than 80% of the soybean's yield is protein that enters the market for either human consumption or animal feed and only 12% of U.S. soybean production was used by the U.S. biodiesel industry to produce fuel," Jobe says. "It is worth noting that biodiesel in the U.S. is also made from a variety of other sources, such as waste products like recycled restaurant grease.
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Tagged: biodiesel, biofuels, soybean, usda, soybeans
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