Thursday 24 April 2008

Food prices

Food prices are rising - especially for "staple" foods like wheat, corn, and soy.

The President of the World Bank (and a fuckton of other public commentators) have blamed biofuels for these rising prices. According to them, your ethanol-powered vehicle is forcing Haitians to eat mud.

I say, how about this: "Animals raised for food in the U.S. consume 90% of the soy crop, 80% of the corn crop, and 70% of its grain." From the USDA

Oh, and how about this: "'To produce 1 pound of feedlot beef requires about 2,400 gallons of water and 7 pounds of grain (42). Considering that the average American consumes 97 pounds of beef (and 273 pounds of meat in all) each year, even modest reductions in meat consumption in such a culture would substantially reduce the burden on our natural resources.'" From the NIH

I think that blaming biofuels for the rise in cereal prices is like blaming that donut you had this morning for the fact that you are 30 pounds overweight.

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