Do biofuels increase food prices and threaten to starve the poor?
Biofuels made directly from the parts of plants used for food can, in the short-term, affect supply such that food prices increase. But, as Econ 101 tells us, increased demand quickly gives rise to increased supply (with, for example, more corn acres planted in 2007 than at anytime since WWII). That said, no serious biofuels producer wants to see the entire country tilled and planted with corn. Cellulosic technologies that turn agricultural waste (e.g., leftover corn cobs and stalks) and “woody” energy crops into ethanol are rapidly being brought into production. The move toward cellulosic ethanol clearly takes some of the pressure off of food crops or, more accurately, the parts of crops used for food. Energy crops often use land that is unsuited for food crops (and so do not take food out of production) and, in fact, can be planted in regular rotation with food crops to enhance soil. As per biofuels starving the poor, two things should be noted. First, many developing countries have
