Land for Food OR Land for Fuel ?

Historically, the world’s farmers produced food, feed and fiber. Many plants or plant parts are eaten as food. There are around 2,000 plant species which are cultivated for food, and many have several distinct cultivars.

Today, they are starting to produce fuel as well. Since nearly everything we eat can be converted into automotive fuel, the high price of oil is becoming the support price for farm products. The line between the food and fuel economies has suddenly blurred as service stations compete with supermarkets for the same commodities. Or to the service station for fuel? Where to? To the supermarket for food?

Land for Food the world farm economy is already struggling to feed 6.5 billion people ; the more farms producing food,the lower the price of food will be; Jean Ziegler, then UN Special Rapporteur on food concluded that the effects for the world's hungry of transforming wheat and maize crops into biofuel are "absolutely catastrophic," and terms such use of arable land a "crime against humanity; Land for food food is essential for life. To be healthy and well nourished, we must have adequate amounts of a variety of good-quality, safe foods; food gives us the energy and nutrients the body needs to maintain health and life, to grow and develop, to move, work, play, think and learn; the body needs a variety of nutrients - proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals - and these come from the foods we eat; the world farm economy is already struggling to feed 6.5 billion people ; the more farms producing food,the lower the price of food will be; Jean Ziegler, then UN Special Rapporteur on food concluded that the effects for the world's hungry of transforming wheat and maize crops into biofuel are "absolutely catastrophic," and terms such as use of arable land a "crime against humanity”;

Land for fuel first triggered by the oil shocks of the 1970s, production of biofuels — principally ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil and corn in the United States — grew rapidly; production of biofuels in 2005 equaled nearly 2% of world gasoline use; since substituting biofuels for gasoline reduces carbon emissions, governments see this as a way to meet their carbon reduction goals and to stop global warming; biofuels also have a domestic economic appeal, in part because locally produced fuel creates jobs and keeps money within the country; oil independency: although Brazil and the USA currently hold the top spots on biofuel productions, technically speaking, every country can grow crops for fuel;it is up to each country to decide the raw material to use in order to avoid rising food prices; safety: Biodiesel is safe to handle and transport because it is as biodegradable as sugar, 10 times less toxic than table salt;

This is why we should use our land for food Social arguments decreased hunger: we are using the land for its original purpose: harvesting for food; Avoiding bad smell of biofuel production: sulphur oxide has an unpleasant smell and it would force people to move far from industrial areas; Economic arguments land, a limited resource, is used to feed the growing population: corn demands have doubled over the last 40 years and are expected to double again in the next 20, due to population growth; traditional land use not sacrificed to unproven new technology: it has not yet been confirmed that biofuels are 100% eco; in adition to that, we use biofuels in a combination with fossil fuels, and we don’t know yet if biofuel will ever be used by itself;

And this is why we should use our land for fuel Social arguments fighting global warming: Biomass can come from waste plant material. The use of biomass fuels can therefore contribute to waste management as well as fuel security and help to prevent global warming. biofuel can be used for power: A current project for a 1.6 MW landfill power plant is projected to provide power for 880 homes. It is estimated that this will eliminate 3,187 tons of methane and directly eliminate tons of carbon dioxide release per year. This is the same as removing 12,576 cars from the road, or planting 15,606 trees, or not using 359 rail cars of coal per year.MW Economic arguments job and business opportunities: being a relatively new industry, biofuel will give entrepreneurs the chance of developing a business with a high rate of success. It will also create new job opportunities that will contribute to decreasing the unemployment rate. oil independency: although Brazil and the USA currently hold the top spots on biofuel productions, technically speaking, every country can grow crops for fuel. It is up to each country to decide the raw material to use in order to avoid rising food prices.

Using our land for food means greater variety of land use: if land will still be used to produce food, then we can invest money in developing new and better agriculture technologies. Growing crops for biofuel would mean a larger amount of money spend irrigating the soil than usually. Growing crops for food doesn’t require new arable areas, therefore we save virgin forests and animal habitats. So, saving land means saving nature, saving nature means saving species, more species means biodiversity.

Food is fuel for humans.The fight for food and against hunger is the fight for survival! What do you fight for?

Presentation made by Cosmin