7/14/2019 International Food Crisis: Is the demand for biofuel driving more people into hunger and starvation?

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Topic: 

International Food Crisis

Good morning everyone!

7/14/2019 International Food Crisis: Is the demand for biofuel driving more people into hunger and starvation?

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Presentation Outline

• Research Question and Thesis Statement

• Introduction

• Argument 1 + Opposing view + Refutation

• Argument 2 + Opposing view + Refutation

•Recommendations

• Conclusions

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Research Question & Thesis

Statement

RQ: Is the demand for biofuel driving

more people into hunger and

starvation?

TS: YES. The demand for biofuel is driving more people

into hunger and starvation because it contributes to increasedfood prices and climate change.

Globally

7/14/2019 International Food Crisis: Is the demand for biofuel driving more people into hunger and starvation?

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Hunger and starvation?

7/14/2019 International Food Crisis: Is the demand for biofuel driving more people into hunger and starvation?

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• Fuel made from biological material such as:- – Palm

 – Corn

 – Jatropha – Soy

• Fermenting these materials produce ethanol

which can be used

to power engines

Biofuel?

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Biofuels have generations?

1st gen:

from food crops

2nd gen:

from wastes of food crops (husks, stalks)

3rd gen:

from specially grown algae

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• As more and more farmers in the US sell their crops

to biofuel companies instead of the food market, food

supply decrease.

• If supply decrease, price increases.

Why do I say yes?

Demand for biofuel increases food prices

US is thebiggest

producer of corn

“People with cars (the minority) have more purchasing power than

the majority who are living in subsistence level….car drivers canpay more for the same crops than the poor”, says Santa-Barbara,PhD, Director of the Sustainable Scale Project.

7/14/2019 International Food Crisis: Is the demand for biofuel driving more people into hunger and starvation?

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• And if one food crop say corn, increase in price, people will switch to a cheaper 

alternative.

• But this increase in demand is not met with anincrease in supply thus price of the alternative

also increases.

• This creates a domino effect, from one foodcrop to another, even for meat.

7/14/2019 International Food Crisis: Is the demand for biofuel driving more people into hunger and starvation?

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People from poor countries spend 80% of 

monthly income on food:

• With an increase in price, many are forced to

skip meals and go hungry.

Most families only make US$100-200 per month  

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Opposing view:

• Fuel crops do not compete with food crops in the

market because

 –  Jatropha and field corn not consumed by people

 –  2nd and 3rd gen biofuel production

Well, maybe. But..

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Refutation

• Some people do depend on field corn when there is

no sweet corn

• Technology is way behind for feasible production of 

2nd & 3rd gen biofuel• Still displaces food crops from agricultural land

reducing supply

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And..

• In 2011 alone, US earmarked 40% of its corn

 production into producing ethanol

 – equivalent to 15% of global corn production

• This amount is enough to feed 400 million

 people for one whole year!

7/14/2019 International Food Crisis: Is the demand for biofuel driving more people into hunger and starvation?

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Besides increasing food prices?

Actually contributes to climate change leading to droughts.

• Why?

 – Requires large plots of land

 – Requires fertilizers

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Planting requires land

Since most of the available land is used for 

agricultural purposes, biofuel companies expand

to forests and peat lands

The soil in these areas store large amounts of 

carbon

By converting them to plant crops, these carbons

are released to the atmosphere causing global

warming

To repay the carbon debt takes:

423 years in Malaysia and Indonesia319 years in Brazil and the Amazon

This is how long it takes for biofuel to effectively

reduce carbon emissions. Worth the wait?

Of course, companies could

always use land which isalready converted to plant

crops, then there would be

no debt.

However, it would only

displace the existing crops

to new lands leading to the

same situation.

7/14/2019 International Food Crisis: Is the demand for biofuel driving more people into hunger and starvation?

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 Needs fertilizer 

• Requires large amounts of nitrogen fertilizers

 – Which releases nitrogen oxides to atmosphere

• 300 times more harmful to environment than other 

GHGs

Food alone

Food + fuel

Just to fill a 95L tank with pure ethanol requires 250kg of 

corn

7/14/2019 International Food Crisis: Is the demand for biofuel driving more people into hunger and starvation?

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So what’s the relation with hunger? 

• Slight increase in global temperatures

drastically changes rainfall patterns

 – Land become dry and arid

 – Yield of rain-dependent crops drop

• Expected drop of (in the next 10 years):

 –  50% in Africa

 –  18% in cereal production in India

• Without rain, farmers are unable to grow much

leading to reduced food supply and income

7/14/2019 International Food Crisis: Is the demand for biofuel driving more people into hunger and starvation?

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But isn’t biofuel supposed to be

greener?• Yes, the fuel on its own is greener but reports

that show an overall reduction of GHGs do not

take into account planting of the fuel crops.• Biofuel companies only advertises its benefits.

Who wouldn’t? 

7/14/2019 International Food Crisis: Is the demand for biofuel driving more people into hunger and starvation?

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Recommendations

•  Nations should not lock in on biofuel as the main

alternative to fossil fuel

 – Impossible to meet European Union’s target of 10% total

energy from biofuel by 2020 sustainably

• Biofuel companies should spend more on developing

 better technology

• Reduce energy consumption especially on

transportation –  Better public transportation

7/14/2019 International Food Crisis: Is the demand for biofuel driving more people into hunger and starvation?

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Conclusion

• With current technology, biofuel does not look good

 but it holds great potential in the future as it is a

renewable energy source.

• As for now, it is not worth putting so many peoplethrough hunger just for an alternative energy source.

7/14/2019 International Food Crisis: Is the demand for biofuel driving more people into hunger and starvation?

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Reference list:

Canadian Foodgrains Bank (2008), „Can a hungry world afford biofuels?’, viewed 13 February 2012,<http://www.foodgrainsbank.ca/uploads/Can%20a%20hungry%20world%20afford%20biofuels.pdf>

One World (2011), „Food security guide‟, viewed 15 February 2012,

<http://uk.oneworld.net/guides/food_security>

ProCon.org (2009), „Is biofuel production a major cause of the world food crisis?’ , viewed 15 February2012, <http://alternativeenergy.procon.org/view.questions.php?issueID=000292&subissueID=000749>

Rice, T. (2010), 'Meals per gallon', ActionAid UK , viewed 15 February, 2012,<http://www.actionaid.org.uk/doc_lib/meals_per_gallon_final.pdf>

Spiegel Online (2008), 'Global food prices: the fury of the poor', 14 April, viewed 13 February 2012,

<http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,547198,00.html>

The New York Times, 2008, 'International: food crisis', 14 April, viewed 13 February 2012,<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/news/14iht-14oxan-food.11967155.html>

World-Crisis.net (2008), „Global food crisis‟, viewed 15 February 2012,

<http://www.world-crisis.net/food-crisis.html>

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Any questions?

Thank you f or your  attention!