don't blame biofuels for food price increases...

biofuels and government policies that support them are easy whipping boys for recent increases in food prices. The Oil companies have been happilly fueling the cries for reduced biofuel mandates because of increased food prices. But wait. Ethanol is made from Corn. Biodiesel is made from soy and other veg oils. The food stables the world’s poor rely on are rice and wheat. There was a drought in the world’s wheat basket, Australia this year. Humm, is something else going on? And now even the New York Times agrees that biofuels are only partially to blame:

“Work by the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington suggests that biofuel production accounts for a quarter to a third of the recent increase in global commodity prices. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations predicted late last year that biofuel production, assuming that current mandates continue, would increase food costs by 10 to 15 percent.”

wow, didn’t think I would be agreeing with the NYT today.