Those who thought that the loan waiver gifted to farmers by Mr Chidambaram was a pre-election tamasha may be mistaken. The Finance Minister advocated the rights of the poor in his recent lecture at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.
Mr Chidambaram referred to the USA in particular as a country that is callously making use of food material for producing biofuels when millions of poor people are starving in many parts of the world.
Nearly 20% of the corn produced in the US goes to making biofuels. Maize, soya beans sugar cane and other crops are seen as sources of clean and cheap biofuels. "It is a sign of the lopsided priorities of certain countries that they will resort to measures that will produce fuel at a cheaper cost in order to meet the transport requirements of a section of their population, even while a larger proportion of the world's population is deprived of food at reasonable prices or, as in the case of some countries, deprived of food altogether. I think it is outrageous and it must be condemned," said Chidambaram.
He also mentioned that the prices of maize, rice and wheat have at least doubled in the last three years. Of course, the price of crude oil more than doubled in the same period. Therefore it is more economical to use the food items for production of fuel! Economical, yes; but is it morally acceptable to convert food into fuel for vehicles when millions are starving?
In a country like the US where starvation is not an issue the question may not arise. But America is projecting itself as the patron of the whole world. Doesn't it then have a moral obligation to look at the global situation before adding more and more to its own luxurious lifestyles?
Britain has already introduced biofuels as a compulsory fuel for its cars. Starting next month all vehicle fuel sold in Britain will have to be at least 2.5 per cent biofuel, a level due to rise to 5 per cent by 2010. It is thought that biofuels will reduce the environment pollution. But environment department science adviser Robert Watson is of the opinion that cultivation of some crops for biofuels may do more harm than good to the environment, for example in clearing forest to grow crops for biofuel.
Last year Jean Ziegler, United Nations' independent expert on the right to food, argued at the UN General assembly against the use of biofuels and demanded a five-year moratorium on all initiatives to develop biofuels. Yet America has been subsidising the production of biofuel for over a year. (That America is against providing subsidies even to starving farmers elsewhere is a different matter!)
Should we do away with biofuels altogether? No. We can think of producing biofuels from non-edible crops. For example, jatropha found in India grows on wasteland and can be used in the manufacture of biofuel. It will also give employment to people without depriving anyone of food. Other countries too should look for such alternatives.
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People run after America .. for money ... America runs after money ...
They control Iraq's oil lobby .... they control Afghnistans maringuana (charas: i hope i got the spelling right) producing areas .... They like inflation ... !!!
Whereas biofuel goes ... why not try hydrogen fuel ... electricity ....
I once saw on discovery tht the pacific ocean frozen methane down under due to so much atmospheric pressure ... It is believed that ... It it is 5 times more in qunatity than the current oil reserves present ... except for the fact tht it cant be used cos methane is a greenhouse gas ...
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Yes this situation will come to India also. The rich can not live with out air conditioners. Once
coal and other fuel oils are exhausted the veg. oils will be converted to esters or they will be consumed as such. Even now veg. oils are being used directly that is what they call SVO. This will happen at the cost of the poor. The poor either will revolt or may perish.
DMR Sekhar.
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The price of food commodities was in the doldrums for many years forcing many farmers (in North America) into bankruptcy. The rise of crude oil saw the use of food material (cereals, sugar) for production of ethanol for fuel. This was considered a god-send by many farmers as the best way to maximize the value ($ value) for these commodities.
Of course, this means less food for people (and also for livestock).
When viewed from this view point, is there anything really wrong with maximizing the value for a given commodity item?
Nowadays, people in the West tend to count themselves first!
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Very balanced blog, matheikal. Food security is indeed supreme. Also you are right that the GHG emissions from biofuel are no less than hydrocarbons. The life cycle analysis of corn based ethanol that USA has suggests also that the energy used to produce ethanol from corn results in negative energy substitution.
In India the cautious approach that is being followed is far better... here the ethanol that is blended in petrol is made from molasses, a by product of sugar... not directly from any food source, not even directly from sugarcane juice as they do in Brazil. As for bio-diesel, jatropha /pongomia etc seeds of pererennial non-food tree crops are identified as possible feedstock... use of any kind of edible oil is strictly forbidden...
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Thanks
o Indu for dropping in as meticulously as you always do.
o Shajan for adding more to what I have said
o Divya for the support
o Binu for being there always with a vigilant eye
o Dawn for being a regular reader
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A very informative piece. Really it was felt that "loan waiver" would be strolling in flesh and blood around the poor villages of the nation. A thought provoking article. Thanks.
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Dear Matheikal,
Thanks for triggering the thought process.
Thanks for sharing this informative article to all of us.. I was not aware of the facts behind "biofuels". Environmental goodness was the only thing that was in my mind when I read abt them, this is indeed something that needs to be thought about...
Cheers
Divya
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This is a very important topic. Food grain availability getting directly linked to fuel price is madness. It is estimated that the amount of grain required to fill a twenty-five gallon SUV tank with ethanol would feed one person for a whole year. Which will take priority? SUV of course!
-shajan
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Excellent post matheikal
Grains for the fuel is unthinkable ,As you have rightly said we must think of producing biofuels from nn edile crops.
Indu
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