Increased production of biofuels will lead to global food shortages


Energy security strategies, investment opportunities and energy policy strategies are driving the production and consumption of biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel, which require large amounts of land and water, and these resources that could otherwise be used for food production are increasingly Many are used to produce crops for processing fuels.

According to a new study published on March 3, 2016 in the journal Nature Journal, about 4% of agricultural land and 3% to 4% of fresh water in the world are now used to grow biofuel crops. The study found that these food production resources can feed about one-third of the world's undernourished people.

As the world's population reaches about 7.4 billion and is expected to grow to 9 billion in the middle of this century, the contradiction between food and fuel needs will become increasingly prominent.

“We are investigating the impact of biofuels on food security – the food-energy relationship and its links to global land and water allocation,” said Paolo D'Odorico. Paolo D'Odorico is a professor of environmental science at the University of Virginia who co-authored this paper with his colleagues in Italy.

“The quantification of land and water used in biofuel production is poor, and we are working hard to learn more to provide information to help with public policy development.”

Mr. D'Odorico said that biofuel production for transportation will increase to 10% of the transportation sector's fuel use, which is based on recent policies and business models that encourage renewable energy production. The planet can only meet 6.7 billion people. Food.

“From the current world population, we are facing a food shortage of 700 million people,” Mr. D'Odorico said. "As the population grows, this problem will only get worse."

The research team's biofuel consumption rate analysis is based on data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and other sources. They estimated the water and land footprint of bioenergy per unit and rebuilt the global trade model for bioenergy crops. They determined that about 4% of agricultural land and water resources were used to produce biofuels, which would be enough to support 280 million people if they were used to produce food crops.

“These results clearly show the extent to which biofuels compete with food for the limited land and water resources of the planet, and it is hindering the process of providing more food to the growing population,” Mr. D'Odorico said.

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