This speculation is by Hans Dieter. It comes from a different list. Harry
> Subject: [4DWorldx] The emerging food-fuel battle > > Ethanol as additive to gasoline from crude oil has, as other alternative > fuels, for ex. biodiesel, gained popularity in some parts of Europe. It is not > only the environment conscience which is calmed down, it is also the price of > the usual > 50% ethanol added to premium gas which is kept independent of the price of > crude oil and therefore cheap. > The difference per liter of premium is presently 25 euro cents, or about 20% > No one has ever figured out how the competition of some biomass as food versus > the input to produce ethanol influences the price of the basic or underly, the > food. > > In terms of corn in the US corn belt, where 25 producers of ethanol are buying > up the total output of corn production from some farms, someone did the > calculation. > The amount of corn required to produce 25 gallons of ethanol can feed a human > in the third world for a whole year. When the ethanol priducers have reached > their capacity by end of 2007, 14 million tons of corn will go for ethanol, > leaving only 6 million tons of the planned increment of corn production for > export as food. Already now, ethanol distillers buy up 50% of South Dakota's > output of grain and corn, and 30% of Iowa's production. > Necessarily, the price of food made form grain and corn will rise sharply. > This has already happened in Asia, where production of biodiesel from palm oil > made this basic nutrition a luxury in terms of price. In Brazil, the commodity > sugar cane is up 100% in the past 12 months, due to the increment in demand by > Brazil's ethanol industry. > > Besides a coming battle for water, there will be a battle for food. > > My indecision is final for now > ( Dharma the Cat ) > Hans Dieter
