Biofuel Production May be Cutting into Our Food Supply and Raising Prices

While biofuel is certainly useful and may help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it may also be cutting into our food supply. Scientists have found that government biofuel policies rely on reductions in food consumption in order to generate greenhouse gas savings.

"Without reduced food consumption, each of the models would estimate that biofuels generate more emissions than gasoline," said Timothy Searchinger, first author of the new paper, in a news release.

The researchers examined three models used by U.S. and European agencies. They found that all three of the models estimated that some of the crops diverted from food to biofuels are not replaced by planting crops elsewhere. In fact, 20 to 50 percent of the net calories diverted to create ethanol are not replaced by planting additional crops.

So what does this mean? It's apparent that there's simply less food available. Not only that, but these missing calories are not simply extras enjoyed in resource-rich countries. Instead, this means that the price of food goes up.

"The impacts on food consumption result not from a tailored tax on excess consumption but from broad global price increases that will disproportionately affect some of the world's poor," said Searchinger.

The researchers found that ethanol made from corn and wheat actually generations only modestly fewer emissions than gasoline. The fact that these lowered emissions come from reductions in food production is buried in the methodology and not explicitly stated. The researchers found that the European Commission's model found a great reduction in emissions; it included reductions in both quantity and overall food quality, though, due to the replacement of oils and vegetables by corn and wheat.

"Without these reductions in food quantity and quality, the model would estimate that wheat ethanol generations 46 percent higher emissions than gasoline and corn ethanol 68 percent higher emissions," said Searching.

The findings reveal that it's important for policymakers to take these models into account while deciding whether or not they wish to seek greenhouse gas reductions from food reductions.

The findings are published in the journal Science.

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