UN Expert is Ignoring Facts Regarding Biofuels Role in Food Prices
National Biodiesel Board CEO responds to new report.
Compiled by staff
Published: Sep 12, 2008
On Thursday National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe responded to what he referred to as the latest attempt to unfairly blame biofuels for rising food prices.
We have witnessed the latest in a concerted effort to exaggerate the role of biofuels in the rise of global food prices with a new report from so-called UN expert Olivier de Schutter," Jobe said. "In fact, the latest attempt to scapegoat the biofuel industry is little more than a recitation of other baseless attacks, including a discredited supplemental position paper erroneously reported as a World Bank 'study.'"
According to both the U.S. Department of Energy and the USDA, biofuels have a marginal effect on the increase in food prices and the major driving force behind food price increases is the skyrocketing price of petroleum.
Jobe said that contrary to assertions of those interested in limiting clean alternative fuels such as biodiesel, food prices would actually be higher without biodiesel. Only 12% of U.S. soybean production was used by the U.S. biodiesel industry and 4% of global soybean production to produce fuel in 2007.
"Even then more than 80% of each soybean actually entered the market as protein for either human consumption or animal feed," Jobe said. "We are proud of the promise that biodiesel holds for providing a sustainable and cleaner alternative to petroleum."
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Tagged: biodiesel, soybean, biofuels, usda, UN
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