Ethanol push hurts the poor?

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization warns about the impact of skyrocketing crop prices.

It estimated that Africa will see a 49 percent rise in their cereal import bill. International wheat prices have skyrocketed by 83 percent in the last year.

Poor countries will pay a record total for cereal imports, despite a fall in the total amount they will import.

The Christian Science Monitor ran a good piece exploring to what extent the skyrocketing food prices have been affected by the global push for ethanol and other biofuels.

An economist at Iowa State University estimates that one-fifth of all the acreage in the US now devoted to the crop will grow corn destined for ethanol, rather than food. Soybean prices have also been affected by this trend.

With huge amounts of crop-growing land in the US devoted instead to energy, it's no surprise that food prices are through the roof.

So we're taking food out of the mouthes of poor people to devote to an energy inefficient fuel.

Talk about the law of unintended consequences.

North Country Public Radio had a series about a more intelligent approach to biofuel.

It may have trouble catching on, as Iowa is more important for politicians to pander to than Northern New York. But at least, this is an approach that doesn't jack up food prices for those who can least afford it.

The law of unintended consequences in action

The UN has warned that skyrocketing food prices threatens millions of people in poorer countries.

Food prices have risen an unprecedented 40% in the last year and many nations may be unable to cope, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO].

The increases are partly due to droughts and floods linked to climate change, as well as rising oil prices boosting demand for bio-fuels, the FAO said.

Changing diet in fast-developing nations such as China is also considered a factor, with more land needed to raise livestock to meet increasing demand for meat.

International cereal prices have already sparked food riots in several countries, the FAO points out.

The FAO is calling for increased funding for programs designed to help small farmers in at-risk countries.

The FAO's director general said the impact of biofuels on food prices would be examined next year.

The use of land to grow plants which can be used to make alternative fuels - and the use of food crops themselves for fuel - has reduced food supplies and helped push up prices.

This is a great example of the law of unintended consequences (though by no means the most devastating).

Much time and effort has been put into developing biofuels. This has been strongly pushed by corn- and soybean-growing places like the midwestern US and sugar-growing places like Brazil. Such lobbying is done clearly to benefit midwestern American and Brazilian farmers but they cleverly latch on the environmentalism and increasing concern about the already visible effects of climate change.

But there's one big problem: production of ethanol, the most common biofuel, uses more energy than the end product creates.

So not only does ethanol production waste energy, but it jacks up food prices for those who can least afford it.