Food vs Fuel

[wd9]

Seems this topic is slowly gaining momentum and I'd sure like to hear some comments from what you all think. Some things to consider before responding.

1. Food is not moral, the decisions of people and how governments rule countries is?

2. Should a farmer have the ability to decide how production grown on your own holdings sold and to which application or should land only be used for the production of food and used as such?

3. Since all the food crops produced in canada including livestock are sold to the rich, how can we affect world hunger if our food isn't going there in the first place?

4. Do we solve hunger issues more effectively by buying products specifically from those starving countries than any intermittent aid we provide today?

5. Is it about food vs fuel, or is it about food vs non-food use. Pharmacology, plastics, plant reactors, isolates, protein specific application production, on and on are examples. Are these applications more acceptable than fuel? What's the difference.


Anyways, a topic that will affect ag and commodity marketing in a big way, thoughts?

[charliep]

wd9

Are better international prices for grains good or bad for developing countries? Better prices are good for all farmers is a plus (whereever you live). Finding markets for crops that are overproduced as a result of gov't subsidies is also good. Energy equation (ethanol energy output versus inputs to produce and transport) is a different story.

Also note the comment on buying from developing world so they have money to buy food is also worth highlighting. Was at a seminar yesterday and the topic of Cuba/sugarcane came up. Could go a long way to meeting US ethanol needs but not politically palatable.

[agstar77]

Higher prices promote more production in developing countries which is good, since they generally can't afford to import our higher priced products.

[Fransisco]

It's not a question of food or fuel.

It's a question of who knows best the government or the market? Right now when it comes to bio fuels government thinks it knows best.

They haven't gotten one right yet but lots of people seem to think this one is different. It won't be.

[wd9]

The position of many NGO's and people seem to be there should not be food used for fuel period. That it is immoral and should be stopped immediately regardless of energy balance because we are causing mass starvation. We have two options I think, agree with them or go proactive and counter with fact. What is the best move?

[ColevilleH2S]

IMO Growing Oats to feed the draft horses in the twenties is no different than growing Corn or Canola to feed biofuel to the tractor now. For thousands of years we have had food and fuel competing against one and other in the market place, the only exception has been the last sixty or seventy years.

The public has a short memory.

[malleefarmer]

Higher prices would promote production in poorer countries IF they could afford the inputs which they cant, catch 22

[malleefarmer]

Higher prices would promote production in poorer countries IF they could afford the inputs which they cant, catch 22

[parsley]

If farmers want to give grain to the NGO's...fine. if they want to sell to the NGO's.... fine.

If they want to tell the NGo's to shut the family up, fine....

Decisions should be made by folks who agree to agree FOR the folks who agree..But I think you know that well W9.

Facts are always good. If you can define one, of course. Kind of like agstar posting about bees disappearing....fact is all the bees are back , full force, unbelievable bees, all varieties, types.

Canadian farmers have no obligation to feed the world.And Nigerian farmers have no obligation to feed us.

Parsley

[Fransisco]

And no obligation to provide fuel to anyone as well.

[parsley]

Good point fransisco.

Parsley

[just_wondering]

I would stress the distribution problems in the world. That people in poorer countries are starving because their governments are fighting their own people.
Food is also a weapon all the way back to biblical times Romans Salted the soil to make conquered territories dependant on Roman imports.
If many are producing at /- Cost of Production I can't imagine our citizens believing the whole food vs fuel hype

[cottonpicken]

Fran,nigeria does infact have have an obligation to provide us with their energy reserves,what do you think is causing the current conflict?

Pars,bee colonies in the u.s have been desimated pick up a news paper.

Once we see a billion people starve to death on live t.v guess how popular ethanol will become.

There are still a few people in this world with a little empathy left.

Bye the way charlie cuba is a dirty word here.

[kamichel]

Higher prices will bring higher production. Perhaps we may export a little less but someone else will pick up the slack. Perhaps the starving people in their own countries will be more able to make a profit without cheap American corn keeping the prices down to the point of the farmers themselves starving.

[wd9]

In the case of the EU and the US, biofuel comes from highly subsidized land to produce highly subsidized exports for a highly subsidized renewable fuel strategy. Think someone might ask questions one day?