The general problem faced as the world population reflects the benefits of using biofuels as a renewable source of energy is whether or not using foodstuffs as energy is morally correct when there are many that are impoverished and starving. In the developing world, nearly one billion people go hungry each day (Reeves, 2004).
With those statistics, many argue that biofuels pose an immediate threat to impoverished nations. However, the increased production and distribution of biofuels may be the answer for food security doubts. Former Brazilian president Luiz Inàcio Lula da Silva commented on the benefits of the use of biofuels stating that biofuel technology “presents a great opportunity for African, Asian, and Latin American countries to bridge the gap between rich and poor nations by producing more biofuel crops and exporting them” (Boddiger, 2007). Brazil is one of the major producers of biofuels, second only to the United States. Comparatively to other major biofuel-using countries, Brazil has no problem in land limitation to maintain supply of crops. To begin addressing the question of global food security in correlation with the increased use of bioenergy, it is imperative to account for the individual circumstances of each country.
Figure 1: Fuel Ethanol and Biodiesel Production is Highly Concentrated (2007)
As more and more countries turn to renewable bioenergy alternatives, the demand increases. To keep affordable prices for consumers, the supply must also increase at the same rate. While Brazil has not found problems with land limitation to grow crops, US and China experience such issues. (to be continued)
It’s also helpful to consider first generation biofuels in comparison to second generation biofuels. Ethanol pr...
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Humans are damaging the planet to live comfortably, we must change the way food is distributed worldwide, support local farmers and switch to a healthier diet in order to stop global warming. The current global has been getting better for us humans over the years, from eating bread and eggs 3 times a day in the XV century, now we can eat better than the kings of those times, however the much of the food in not healthy and the global food system still fails in getting food to every individual in the planet and in addition it contributes to the destruction of our world. Ms. Anna Lappe explains how the food system contributes to around 1/3 of the global warming issue in her essay “The Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork”, while a group of Plos one explains the issues about the export and import of food growth over the last 50 years in the
Richard Manning Wrote the essay “The Oil We Eat – Following the Food Chain Back to Iraq” which was published in Harper’s Magazine February 2004 edition. In this essay, Manning discusses the evolution of agriculture and the consequences of it. Furthermore, Manning explores the relationship of fossil fuel, food calories and transfer of energy to illustrate earth’s prospective future. Through the use of charismatically presented factual arguments, visual powerful emotional narratives and the credibility of a few choice names, Manning creates an environment in his essay that allows flaws to escape otherwise unknown to majority reader.
Shifting back to a more locally sourced food economy is often touted as a fairly straightforward way to cut externalities, restore some measure of equity between producers and consumers, and put the food economy on a more sustainable footing.” (source E). The long-distance transportation of food uses a profligate amount of fuel and exploits cheap labor in the process. It can greatly assist the environment to buy from local sources by making the carbon footprint of food production lesser and saving natural resources such as oil.
Tyner, Wallace. “The U.S. Ethanol and Biofuels Boom: Its Origins, Current Status, and Future Prospects.” BioScience. August 2008. Vol 58 (7):646
With the rapid growth of our global population pouring into the next millennium, we will witness an ever-growing hunger rate around the world. That is unless we call for a revolution on the global scale. The Green Revolution which already sprouted in the early part of the century only need to add a bit more momentum and we will see a bright future for the human race, a future without hunger and starvation ¡V hopefully.It is becoming increasingly difficult for the planet to support its overwhelming population. And since the amount of arable land available is becoming scarce, we must seek ways to dramatically improve crop yields of existing cropland.
“According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations’ global hunger data, more than 10% – about 800 million people – are undernourished and do not have enough food to lead healthy, active lives (Farmers Weekly). Global food shortages are a day to day issue that all organisms on Earth suffers. Biofuels are a huge part of global food shortages because it is made from the oils of plants which could be converted into food. Biofuels are produced from plants that are burned in furnaces or diesel engines. The the oil from those burned plants is mixed with petroleum, furthermore this process creates biofuels. Biofuels mainly consist of corn which could be used as food instead. Farming techniques are very important to the food shortages too. Without proper farming techniques crops wouldn’t be growing as well as the plants are today. Hydroponics can help this
According to Chadwick, “ethical consumption focuses on and engages in the good, bad, ethical and unethical purposes of eating while exploring the corresponding options.” (267). When we are held accountable for our ethical responsibility to the earth and the food that grows from it, our health logically improves. Food represents more than just a way to sustain our lives nutritionally, we learn about food. Food enables us to become financially independent. Chadwick discusses the economic and environmental impact that food has on society is immense. One hundred percent of people on the planet eat food; regardless of how it is prepared. So morally and ethically one must explore in depth all of the food that is consumed. In order for one to determine the value of life, one must weigh the importance of sustenance.
Pimentel, D. (2008). Biofuels, solar and wind as renewable energy systems: benefits and risks. Choice: Current Reviews For Academic Libraries, 46(7), 1349.
Some of the ways we try to combat Climate Change differes from region to region and culure to culture. One of the remedies that seems to be adapting all around the world is the use of biofuels instead of using fossil fuels. People believe that instead of digging up and using oil and petroleum, our best solution to combat greenhouse gases emitted by fossil fuels is to plant soybeans, sugar cane, palm oil and use that as a replacement. More cars are flex fuled, and use ethenol mixed with petroleum to lessen the use of oil since oil prices are only going to increase with the decreasing amount that is
With the increases in the global population and the increase need to feed this population, comes the great debate in how governments of the developed and developing world must tackle this important issue. In his article, The Politics of Hunger: How Illusion and Greed Fan the Food Crisis, Paul Collier examines the root causes of the food crisis and three ways (the slaying of giants) governments can easily come in finding a solution in the near-term, middle-term and long-term. The root causes, as outlined by Mr. Collier, are the increasing demand for food and increases in food prices. First, Collier states, “the first giant that must be slain is the middle to upper-class love affair with peasant agriculture.” In other words, increasing commercial agriculture and farming. Second, Collier states that the lifting of the genetically modified foods (GM crops) ban by Europe and Africa will allow a decrease in global food prices. Lastly, he states the United States must lift the subsidies on corn produced for biofuel and find an alternate biofuel source (like Brazilian sugar cane), thus decreasing the price on corn produced for food while increasing overall grain production.
More farmers are now planting crops for biofuel, resulting to an intense drop in food production. According to experts this promising alternative energy source is seemingly causing a global decrease of food supply. As the demand for biofuels increases, more industrialized countries are offering encouragements and subsidizing farmers to grow crops for fuel rather than for food. The biofuel production method was also anticipated to be carbon neutral, as the crops would absorb the carbon dioxide released when the biofuel was burned. However crops for fuel are now grown at such a rate that they need more energy to cultivate, grow and harvest. By the time it reaches households, it would have consumed more energy and released more greenhouse causing substances than the feared fossil fuels would have. The fact that emissions are released during production, processing, fertilizer application and as a result of land use change is highly ignored. Somehow biofuels can sidetrack less harmful and clean resources like renewable energies such as solar and wind energy. Large scale cultivation of biofuel crops, unlike small scale, locally produced and biofuel owned farms are commonly challenged by problems such as severe use of water, chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides. These also often lead to pollution, depleting and degrading available water resources which can cause famines. According to contrary believe of analysts, it has also shown that there is not enough farming land on earth to produce biofuel crops to meet the huge energy needs encouraged by our current and unmaintainable ways of living. http://www.greenerideal.com/science/0516-biofuels/ &
One of the most complex issues in the world today concerns human population. The number of people living off the earth’s resources and stressing its ecosystem has doubled in just forty years. In 1960 there were 3 billion of us; today there are 6 billion. We have no idea what maximum number of people the earth will support. Therefore, the very first question that comes into people’s mind is that are there enough food for all of us in the future? There is no answer for that. Food shortage has become a serious problem among many countries around the world. There are many different reasons why people are starving all over the world. The lack of economic justice and water shortages are just merely two examples out of them all.
There are those that believe our planet has reached its maximum capacity to sustain humanity and we need to reduce our population to rectify it. It is also said that our planet is well capable of providing both the nutrition and caloric needs for humanity, both now and into the future as well. Regardless of where one’s opinion of the facts fall between these two arguments, global food security is not where it should be. Uneven development could be argued to be a cause of this. But it is not the only issue affecting the planet.
Kristof, N. D. (2007, June 28). Our Gas Guzzlers, Their Lives. New York City, New York, USA: The New York Times. Mendelsohn, R. (2000, July 12). Climate Change Impacts on African Agriculture.
Fourthly, biofuels can be produced locally, which decreases the nation's dependence upon foreign energy. By reducing dependence on foreign fuel sources, countries can protect the integrity of their energy resources and make them safe from outside