Feedstocks for industry versus food for all?
The growing demand for agricultural raw materials to produce biofuels, electricity and heat is having a sustainable impact on world agricultural markets. This is an undisputed fact. However, the cultivation of crops for non-food purposes is nothing new. Large areas have traditionally been devoted to classical crops such as rubber, jute and cotton yet this has never been a suspected danger to world food security. Consequently: Rather than use slogans such as "tank full, plate empty", let us make a more differentiated examination of the situation and better calculate the chances and risks of bioenergies.
Dierk Jensen
Hamburg, Germany
Dierk.jensen@gmx.de