Michael Le Page in NewScientist (19 March 2022) points out that potential food shortages caused by Putin’s War on Ukraine, one of the bigger food exporters around, can be alleviated through some simple legislation:
… Europe and the US could more than compensate for the loss of Ukraine’s exports by diverting crops destined to be made into biofuels into food production instead. This would bring food prices down and help prevent a major global food shock.
Quickly increasing the supply of food crops is difficult. But a large proportion of food crops aren’t eaten but converted to biofuels. Globally, 10 per cent of all grain is turned into biofuel, says [Matin Qaim at the University of Bonn in Germany].
It has always struck me as a little odd that we divert food into energy production, and I suppose this is a graphic illustration of why it is a little mad to do so. The connection to legislation is that this is often a result of a legislative mandate. The Czech Republic has already recognized this:
On 11 March, the Czech Republic ended its mandate requiring ethanol to be blended with petrol. It did this to reduce the costs of fuel rather than food, but [Ariel Brunner at Birdlife International] is calling for other countries to follow suit.
If you’re in the habit of using a biofuel, it may soon become scarce.
