World Bank -- Biofuel Caused Food Crisis

A handful of corn before it is processed. Photograph: Charlie Neibergall/AP

From The Guardian:

Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian.

The damning unpublished assessment is based on the most detailed analysis of the crisis so far, carried out by an internationally-respected economist at global financial body.

The figure emphatically contradicts the US government's claims that plant-derived fuels contribute less than 3% to food-price rises. It will add to pressure on governments in Washington and across Europe, which have turned to plant-derived fuels to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce their dependence on imported oil.

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More News On The food Crisis:
“Biofuels Behind World Food Crisis”- World Bank -- Environmental Graffiti
Biofuels cause 75pc increase in food prices, report says -- The Telegraph
Biofuels blamed for food price crisis -- Reuters

My Comment: I own a farm in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada. For as long as I can remember farming was never a serious business for me or for my neighbors. I never went into farming .... I am a computer geek, with over 25 years of experience handling networks, computers themselves, and not numerous web projects. My background is also history .... particularly military history.

This has all changed for me in the past 2 years. I still do my blogging (like this blog) and computer related work, but I am now becoming a farmer. All farmers, with a little bit of cooperation from nature, can now make money in this industry. Corn, which was in decline as a product produced in Quebec is now being grown on a scale that has never been matched in its history. My land, which has not been farmed for the past 15 years, is now growing sugar beets (for ethanol), and I am now making plans to purchase a neighbor's farm for even more growth.

While the World Bank report is probably true ... prices for corn have doubled in Quebec and (I can also guess the world) in the past two years, I can also now predict that more corn will be produced this year .... and plans are now for even more next year. I can also make the forecast that while prices will be high for a while, I can also easily forecast that prices will start to go down as more production starts to rev itself up.