No understanding for diversion of food to fuel cars.

Tempers almost reach boiling point on government bio fuel policies on Tuesday during the opening of the United Nations food summit in Rome as the head of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) claimed that nobody understood the diversion of food to fuel cars.

         Academics and environmentalists have blamed bio fuels for its part in 60% rise in food costs since the start of 2007, followed by riots in more than 30 countries, over food shortages. Diversion of land that provided food crops to bio fuels has contributed to about a third of the rise, Washington D.C.-based International Food Policy Research has claimed.

"Nobody seems to understand how $11 to $12 billion a year on subsidies and protective tariff policies has had the effect on diverting 100 million tons of grains from human consumption, to quench a thirst to fuel motor vehicles," said FAO director-general, Jacques Diouf.

The United Nations position is that bio fuels such as ethanol or bio diesel can help to decrease pollution and slow global warming and create jobs for the rural communities, where jobs are scarce, but the benefits may be outweighed by major environmental problems and soaring food prices. However, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has rejected criticism that producing ethanol in Latin America's largest nation has decreased food production, blaming the increase in oil prices and farm subsidies instead.
This debate will continue until another form of fuel is established.

May 2008

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