by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Q. We’ve heard a lot about carbon capture, but what about carbon capture and conversion (to a more soluble, transportable and storable form), for example conversion to bicarbonate? A. To date, all ventures in the carbon
food prices
Back TO HOMEThe 7 Flying Reindeer: Renewable Fuel Myths that Continue to Defy Gravity
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Food vs Fuel, biofuels causing corn planting to skyrocket, low oil prices killing off renewable fuels, the subsidy myth, the emissions myth, the “people won’t buy the fuels” myth, and the Insanity myth. ... In the world
December 23, 2015 Read Full Article
How Renewable Ethanol Can Be Produced Sustainably
(ePURE) ... At ePURE, the association representing European ethanol producers, we believe that renewable ethanol can play an important role in decarbonising transport. Because ethanol can be blended with petrol to run in existing engines, it is one of the ways we
December 17, 2015 Read Full Article
UN Flags Biofuels Slowdown, as Food Prices Renew Decline
(Agrimoney.com) The United Nations highlighted a cooling in the competition by biofuels plants for crops as it revealed a return by food prices into decline, as cereals and meat values fell to five-year lows. The UN's food agency, the Food and
December 03, 2015 Read Full Article
Debunking Biofuels: Do They Really Raise Food Prices?
by Melissa Pariettin(MSN.com) ... Many factors determine the price of food in the U.S. If the introduction of the RFS (Renewable Fuel Standard) had as significant an impact on food prices as certain outlets have suggested, then the increase would be
November 18, 2015 Read Full Article
RFA Sees Positives And Negatives From CBO Report
(WNAX) A Congressional Budget Office report released this summer and shared at a Congressional Committee hearing last week looked at what might happen if the RFS were repealed. Renewable Fuel Association Senior Vice President Geoff Cooper says the report debunks
November 09, 2015 Read Full Article
House Science Committee Hearing Exposes Fundamental Flaws in RFS Opponents Attacks
(Renewable Fuels Association) Today (November 3, 2015), the House Science, Space and Technology committee held a joint hearing of the subcommittees on Environment and Oversight titled “Renewable Fuel Standard: A Ten Year Review of Costs and Benefits.” Renewable Fuels Association
November 04, 2015 Read Full Article
Ethanol from Corn Stalks: A Cure for Climate Change?
by Donnelle Eller (Des Moines Register) ... "This is one of the core technologies that we need to cut oil use and reduce emissions from transportation," said Jeremy Martin, a senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists. "It would be great if we
October 30, 2015 Read Full Article
Sen. Charles Grassley: It’s No Trick: Cellulosic Ethanol a Treat for Iowa Economy
by Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) (Ames Tribune) ... Iowa’s new cellulosic facility also will help dry up the crocodile tears spilled by Big Food that tries to assign blame to corn-based ethanol for rising food prices. Don’t forget, the facility in
October 30, 2015 Read Full Article
Big Oil's Not So Smart Campaign
(Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association) ... If Big Oil truly believed its product (oil) was better than ethanol, why not launch a campaign on the greatness that is oil. Perhaps Big Oil could tell us how oil doesn't raise food prices. Nevermind that recent
October 28, 2015 Read Full Article
Ethanol Fraud Goes on with Impunity
by David O. Berger (St. Louis Today) ... And, of course, whenever big business and big government collude, as is the case in the ethanol industry, the financial players get into the game, buying and selling ethanol credits, thus influencing the price
October 05, 2015 Read Full Article
Letters: Ethanol Good for Economy, Environment
by Warren Woodrow Carothers (The State) In his Sept. 18 letter, “Renewable fuel standard doing more harm than good,” U.S. Rep. Tom Rice says ethanol emissions are 33 percent higher than with gasoline. He is using research data that is
October 02, 2015 Read Full Article
UN Data Suggests Ethanol Production Does Not Increase Food Prices
(Biofuels International) The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) has released data showing that global food prices have experienced the steepest monthly drop since 2008. According to the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA), the decline in food prices has
September 14, 2015 Read Full Article
UN Data Shows That Ethanol is Not Causing Food Price Rises
(Global Renewable Fuels Alliance) The UN FAO has released data showing that global food prices have experience the steepest monthly drop since 2008, casting doubt upon concerns about the impact of ethanol production in food price increases. The recent decline
September 14, 2015 Read Full Article
Celebrating a Decade of Success: The RFS Turns 10!
(Renewable Fuels Association) This Saturday marks 10 years since the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) containing the original Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was signed into law by President George W. Bush. The first RFS set America on a path
August 10, 2015 Read Full Article
Big Oil’s Mouthpiece Distorts the Facts
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association/The Hill) Sofie E. Miller may have left the Charles Koch Institute in 2012, but she clearly continues to do the bidding of her former employer and the rest of the oil industry (“RFS hurts
July 30, 2015 Read Full Article
THE CASE FOR BIOFUEL: The Magic Bullet for Energy Security and Rural Development in Africa
by Olatomiwa Bifarin* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Around 770,000 BC, it was fire, at some point – wood, dung and coal, to the now-ominous fossil fuels. This is the evolution of energy, and today the evolution must be accelerated to save
July 16, 2015 Read Full Article
Ethanol and Biodiesel: Guilty as Charged
by Paul Driessen (Town Hall) ... The tale of Philip Joseph Rivkin (aka Felipe Poitan Arriaga) reveals an equally disgusting aspect of the mandate, resulting from the absurdly complex Renewable Identification Number (RIN) system devised by EPA bureaucrats. As Ron Arnold explains
July 14, 2015 Read Full Article
Food in the Age of Biofuels
by Jose Graziano da Silva (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization/Project Syndicate) ... But this is a false dichotomy. The choice cannot be between food and fuel. We can make good use of both. Given the right conditions, biofuels can be an effective means
July 03, 2015 Read Full Article
Livestock Feed to Overtake Biofuel in Grain Demand Growth - FAO/OECD
(CNBC/Reuters) Livestock feed will surpass biofuels as the main source of growth in global grain consumption in the next 10 years as emerging countries consume more animal protein while lower oil prices and policy changes end a decade of high
July 01, 2015 Read Full Article
Biofuel Crops Will Feel Effects of Slumping Oil Prices, Research Shows
Eric Atkins (The Globe and Mail) The crash in oil prices will be felt at the farm gate as demand and prices moderate for biofuel crops corn and soybean, says a new report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and
July 01, 2015 Read Full Article
Ignorance or Ignoring is Bliss
by Mike Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Many so-called "experts" fail to account for the contributions of ethanol or, in many cases, simply ignore those contributions in order to make their point, writes Mike Bryan. I guess ignoring can be as
June 30, 2015 Read Full Article
Big Oil’s Mouthpiece Distorts the Facts
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association/The Hill) Sofie E. Miller may have left the Charles Koch Institute in 2012, but she clearly continues to do the bidding of her former employer and the rest of the oil industry (“RFS hurts
June 29, 2015 Read Full Article
EU Set to Meet Green Energy Goal but UK, Netherlands Trail
by Susanna Twidale and Barbara Lewis (Reuters) * Renewable energy to account for 15.3 percent in 2014 * France, Malta, Belgium and Spain also need to boost efforts * Transport challenge proving difficult (Adds reaction, detail on transport sector) The European
June 19, 2015 Read Full Article
Biofuels under Attack: Same Old Story
by Chuck Grassley (The Iowa Republican) ... Consumers like biofuels. The idea of a homegrown product that reduces emissions harmful to the environment and brings the United States freedom from volatile oil-producing countries is appealing. The EPA should know this. Instead, the
June 03, 2015 Read Full Article
Don’t Blame Ethanol and the RFA for High Food Prices
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/Wall Street Journal) There is no support for the statement that ethanol production has driven up food prices. Mike Brown and Rob Green’s “Paying for Ethanol at the Pump and on the Plate” (op-ed, May 15)
May 26, 2015 Read Full Article
Brazilian Study Explores Multiple Causes of 2007 Mexico Tortilla Crisis
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) In light of signs of a moderation in the long upward trend in commodity prices, and recurrent assignment of blame for food insecurity and high food prices to the emergence of biofuels markets, particularly
March 02, 2015 Read Full Article
The Food Waste Debacle
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Last week there was a Fast Food industry fly-in to DC — arguing for a repeal of the Renewable Fuel Standard on the grounds of food price impact. ... It just happens that major report on
March 02, 2015 Read Full Article
Toomey, Feinstein Introduce Bill to Repeal Ethanol Mandate
(Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA)) U.S. Senators Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) are working to repeal a law that drives up the cost of everything from gasoline to groceries. The Toomey-Feinstein Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act of 2015, introduced today,
February 27, 2015 Read Full Article
Opening Channels For Export
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. Grains Council is teaming up with Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association and the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service on a new four-way partnership in ethanol export market development. There’s a big difference
January 19, 2015 Read Full Article
RFS Roundup: Senators Feinstein, Toomey Float Amendment to Cut Corn Ethanol from RFS
(Environmental and Energy Study Insitute) On January 16, Sens. Feinstein (D-CA) and Toomey (R-PA) floated an amendment to the Keystone XL pipeline bill, the ‘Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act of 2015,’ that would remove corn ethanol from the Renewable Fuel
January 16, 2015 Read Full Article
China Biofuels Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2010 - 2017
(Transparency Market Research/Digital Journal) Transparency Market Research Report Added "China Biofuels Market" to its database. The research report provides insights into the global and China biofuels market with detailed overview and statistical data. The growing demand for alternative fuel has motivated
December 18, 2014 Read Full Article
High Turkey Prices: Don't Blame Ethanol
by Alan Neuhauser (U.S. News and World Report/MSN.com) No clucking way. Turkey prices are still higher than average, the American Farm Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics found last week – but don’t blame the Environmental Protection Agency's renewable fuel standard. The
November 26, 2014 Read Full Article
Top 10 Ways to Show Gratitude to Biodiesel Supporters on Thanksgiving
(National Biodiesel Board) This holiday season, we’re giving thanks to the thousands of businesses that choose biodiesel, a sustainable, green form of American energy. Here are the top 10 ways to show your gratitude to those who support America’s advanced
November 25, 2014 Read Full Article
Fuel Standard Good for US Economy
by Tim Walz (D-Minn.) (AgWeek) Imagine a future where America controls its own energy destiny — a future in which we stop spending $1 billion per day on foreign oil and start investing those funds to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure
November 18, 2014 Read Full Article
New Report Sheds Light on the Old "Food Vs. Fuel" Bioenergy Debate
by Jennifer Runyon (RenewableEnergyWorld.com) There was never any conflict between using corn for food or for ethanol since corn growers send most of their product to animal feedlots. That product isn’t even meant for human consumption anyway. It was an abundant year
October 14, 2014 Read Full Article
Ethanol Reduces Use of Imported Oil, Is Sustainable
by Douglas Durante (Clean Fuels Development Coalition/DelMarVa Now) A recent column from Dan Ervin is so wholly lacking in facts, the author does himself a disservice. The renewable fuel requirement supports U.S. agriculture and reduces dependence on imported oil
October 09, 2014 Read Full Article
Ethanol & Corn Production Up, Food & Gas Prices Down
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Growth Energy is attacking the myth that ethanol production increases food prices. Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy notes that time and again, Big Oil, big Food and special interests are attacking the ethanol industry and placing blame on them
July 18, 2014 Read Full Article
Using Less Corn Ethanol Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions
(Environmental Working Group) The Environmental Protection Agency’s pending proposal to cut the amount of corn ethanol that must be blended into gasoline in 2014 by 1.39 billion gallons would lower U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of 3 million
May 29, 2014 Read Full Article
Grants Further Environmental Policy Research
by Stacy Shackford (Cornell Chronicle) ... A $499,998 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture – one of two awarded to Cornell as part of a $12 million program – will allow researchers to delve
May 15, 2014 Read Full Article
ETHANOL: Feeding and Fueling the World| 2014 UPDATE
(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association has published an updated infographic to illustrate how corn is used for fuel and feed. READ MORE
May 08, 2014 Read Full Article
The Renewable Fuel Standard and Consumer Food Prices
by John M. Urbanchuk (ABF Economics, Agriculture and Biofuels Consulting, LLP) The impact of biofuel production mandated by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on U.S. consumer food prices has once again emerged as an issue in public debate. The impact of
April 14, 2014 Read Full Article
Biofuels and Local Food Security: What Does the Evidence Say?
by Anna Locke and Giles Henley (Overseas Development Institute) • People worry that using crop-based biofuels to increase the volume of low-carbon fuels could worsen hunger in poor countries by pushing up global food prices and endangering local food security. • ODI research finds that
April 14, 2014 Read Full Article
Super-Sized Hogwash: Examining the Chain Restaurants’ Rhetoric about the RFS and Food Prices
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) It has been reported that chain restaurant executives and franchise owners are on Capitol Hill this week pushing for the repeal of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Despite the fact that wholesale food and
February 28, 2014 Read Full Article
RPT-EU Policy Gap Choking off Next Generation Green Fuel-Industry
by Barbara Lewis (Reuters) * New research underlines benefits of new generation biofuel * Commission 2030 policy outline omits transport goals * Research has questioned credentials of first-generation fuels Projects to deliver a next generation of green transport fuel, which
February 28, 2014 Read Full Article
False Alarms vs Hard Data: the Renewable Fuel Standard, the Results, and the Critics
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) All those worries about the impact of biofuels on food prices, deforestation, Gulf hypoxia? ... RFS2 fuels have been described as “fantasy fuels”, “government fuels”, derided as “farmer fuels”. Biofuels in general have been, for
December 23, 2013 Read Full Article
Oil Seen as Main Driver of Ethanol and Grain Prices in UN Study
by Rudy Ruitenberg (Bloomberg) Oil prices were found to be the main drivers of ethanol and grain prices in a statistical analysis by the United Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organization. Ethanol moves in line with oil in the long term, while
December 16, 2013 Read Full Article
Senate Hearing Addresses 2014 RFS Proposal
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works held a hearing Dec. 11 on the U.S. EPA’s proposed rule to set 2014 volume requirements under the renewable fuel standard (RFS). The hearing, titled
December 12, 2013 Read Full Article
Obama Messes with the RFS
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the EPA released its 2014 proposed standards and volumes for renewable fuels. The volumes, as widely expected, include substantial reductions from the statutory standards in the original Energy Independence & Security Act. The announced proposed volumes
November 18, 2013 Read Full Article
Declining Corn Prices Hurting South Dakota Farmers
by Jeff Natalie-Lees (Aberdeen News) Corn is about one-half the price it was a year ago, a movement that will dramatically impact farmers' bottom lines. The cash price for corn at North Central Farmers Elevator in Ipswich on Monday was $3.71 per
October 29, 2013 Read Full Article
Bipartisan Group of Legislators Introduce RFS Reform Act
(Office of Representative Jim Costa (D-CA 16th)) Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Steve Womack (R-AR), and Peter Welch (D-VT) released the following statement today regarding the introduction of the RFS Reform Act in the U.S. House of Representatives: “The
October 22, 2013 Read Full Article
Global Food Prices Fall to 3-Year Low, FAO Trims Crop Forecasts
(Reuters) Global food prices are not expected to fall much further after dipping to their lowest level in three years in September, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday, trimming its estimate for 2013/14 world cereals production. The decline in prices last
October 03, 2013 Read Full Article
RFA, Growth Energy Speak out against API Poll Results
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy are disputing the results of a new poll released by the American Petroleum Institute, calling the data biased and deceptive. The RFA noted that two polls performed
October 03, 2013 Read Full Article
Impacts of the EU Biofuel Policy on Agricultural Markets and Land Use
(European Commission Joint Research Center) This report aims to analyse different scenarios that could occur in the EU in the years to come. First is an assumed situation in which by 2020 biofuels would contribute 8% towards the RE transport target; other RE
October 02, 2013 Read Full Article
Coalition Letter Opposing the Renewable Fuel Standard
(Frontiers of Freedom) It has come to our attention that Congress is considering legislation this fall to reform the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). We, collectively and individually, believe the only reform to this failed government mandate should be to repeal
October 02, 2013 Read Full Article
Analyzing the Influence of Energy Policy
by Jake Ferris (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ... The change in stock levels from 2001-’05 accounted for about $1.28 of the $2.49 per bushel increase in corn prices (Table 2)—just over 50 percent. About 18 cents per bushel can be attributed
September 25, 2013 Read Full Article
Accusing RFS of Driving Food Prices is a Whopper
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) The National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR), the lobbying arm for the fast food industry, is returning to the Hill today to continue its anti-RFS (Renewable Fuel Standard) campaign. Food preparation is a tough job. With rising
September 19, 2013 Read Full Article
Farmer’s Markets
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As farmer’s markets boom — bringing great foods and prices directly to consumers — what can we learn about the real story of food vs fuel, when it comes to the use of crops that
September 16, 2013 Read Full Article
Food Price Fears Push EU Lawmakers to Put a Lid on Biofuels Growth
(EurActiv) The European Parliament has voted to limit the use of fuels made from food crops because of fears that biofuels can push up grain prices or damage the climate, further undermining the once booming industry. Lawmakers voting in Strasbourg on
September 12, 2013 Read Full Article
Report: Biofuels Play Minor Role in Local Food Prices
(Ecofys) There is persistent concern that biofuels compete with food production, drive up food prices and price volatility and so cause hunger. Many people, including very dignified authorities, accept this simple causality chain. The reality is far more complex. In
September 06, 2013 Read Full Article
USDA: Food Prices Rising at Slower Pace than Initially Forecast
by Christopher Doering (Des Moines Register) The U.S. Agriculture Department said food prices won’t increase as much as initially expected in 2013. Food prices are expected to rise between 1.5 to 2.5 percent, down from an earlier forecast of 3
August 21, 2013 Read Full Article
Land Availability Should Determine Biomass Use
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) According to a paper published by the nova-Institute on agricultural feedstock use in industrial applications, efficiency and sustainability assessed on a case-by-case basis should be the sole criteria in judging the choice of feedstock used. The paper reviewed
August 14, 2013 Read Full Article
EU Parliament ENVI Committee Approves Biofuels Cap, ILUC
(The European Biodiesel Board/Biodiesel Magazine) On July 11, the European Parliament’s committee for environment, public health, and food safety (ENVI) adopted its opinion on the European Commission’s legislative proposal on biofuels and ILUC. Although in past months some members of the
July 17, 2013 Read Full Article
American Petroleum Institute Launches New Campaign
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) American Petroleum Institute (API) has launched a new campaign featuring print and TV ads taking aim at E15 and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The ethanol industry responded and Bob Dinneen, President and CEO of the
July 16, 2013 Read Full Article
Friends of the Earth and Searchinger Still Wrong about Biofuels
(Global Renewable Fuels Alliance/Biodiesel Magazine) Today (July 12, 2013) the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance slammed a new study by Friends of the Earth for its glaring omissions and use of a controversial theory on land use impacts of biofuels. The
July 15, 2013 Read Full Article
Stop the Nonsense
by Mike Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine) I see article after article pertaining to world hunger and how biofuels are one of the root causes. It is time to stop this nonsense. Biofuels are not causing world hunger, they never have
July 15, 2013 Read Full Article
Report: ILUC Penalties under the RED Will Harm Developing Nations
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A new report published by World Growth argues that the E.U.’s proposal regarding indirect land use change (ILUC) carbon emissions under the Renewable Energy Directive represents a futile effort to curb productive land use
July 15, 2013 Read Full Article
Clean-Burning Biofuels Can Give Us True Independence
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/Chron) ...We can provide our motorists and military with stable, domestically produced fuel. Since 2011, American-made ethanol has contributed more to the U.S. fuel supply than gasoline refined from oil imports from OPEC. ... Americans don't need
July 05, 2013 Read Full Article
Busting Big Oil Myths on the RFS and Ethanol, Part II: Food Prices
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association/The Energy Collective) ...Big Oil’s PR machine regurgitates these myths via conference calls with reporters, meetings with editorial boards, sham studies, paid advertising, social media and many other channels. Their goal, of course, is to
June 06, 2013 Read Full Article
Biofuel Groups Encourage Lawmakers to Maintain the RFS
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Several biofuel trade organizations have weighed in on white paper published by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the impact the renewable fuel standard (RFS) has had on the U.S. agricultural sector. The report examines a
May 03, 2013 Read Full Article
RFA to House Committee: RFS is Single Most Important Economic Value-Added Market for Agriculture
(Renewable Fuels Association) In seventeen pages of comments, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) answered questions put forth in the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Assessment on Agricultural Sector Impacts. Bob Dinneen, RFA’s President and
May 03, 2013 Read Full Article
Biodiesel's Position in the Unfair War on Ethanol
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) If RFS detractors get their way, biodiesel may become a casualty of the war against ethanol. It's up to all of us to make sure this doesn't happen In editorials and opinions circling the issue of
May 02, 2013 Read Full Article
Energy Committee Seeks Stakeholder Comments on the Impacts of the RFS on Agriculture
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is continuing its assessment of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The Committee has issued its second white paper focusing on "Agricultural Sector Impacts." The Committee is seeking stakeholder
April 26, 2013 Read Full Article
The Battle Continues
by Robert Vierhout (ePURE/Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...Member states, however, are faced with the reality of an economic crisis and cannot think of any good reason to kill investments and opportunities for more investments in agriculture. Maybe the Commission has also given
April 24, 2013 Read Full Article
Who’s Fooling Whom? The Real Drivers in Africa’s Food Crisis
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Belgium, PANGEA (Partners for Euro-African Green Energy) launched an update to its report “Who’s Fooling Whom? The Real Drivers Behind the 2010/11 Food Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa”. The report demonstrates an important conclusion: the degree
April 24, 2013 Read Full Article
Renewable Fuel Standard Under Attack
by RP Siegel (TriplePundit) Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad appeared together recently defending the Renewable Fuel Standard from recent attacks from people like Robert Bradley Jr. who writes for Forbes. Bradley, an adjunct scholar of the fossil-fueled Cato and
April 22, 2013 Read Full Article
Biofuels to Cost U.K. Motorists $707 Million, Chatham House Says
by Sally Blakewell (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) Biofuels will cost U.K. motorists about 460 million pounds ($707 million) this year as the government increases their use in transport fuel, driving up food prices in poorer countries, Chatham House said. Britain’s program to expand
April 19, 2013 Read Full Article
WBA: Enough Land for More Food, Feed, Biofuels
by Anna Simet (Biomass Magazine) There is enough land available to produce more food, more feed and more biofuels, which are not the cause of global malnutrition problems, according to the World Bioenergy Association. WBA makes this declaration in a recently
March 29, 2013 Read Full Article
Fix the Broken Biofuels Mandate
by Scott Faber (Environmental Working Group/The Hill E2Wire) It’s time to face facts: the biofuels mandate Congress established in 2005 is creating too much bad biofuel and not enough good biofuel. This year, that mandate requires American refiners to use 13.8
March 13, 2013 Read Full Article
REA Welcomes Ed Davey’s Support for Biofuels in Europe
by Robin Whitlock (Renewable Energy Magazine) ...The Renewable Energy Association (REA) has welcomed Energy Secretary Ed Davey’s stance on biofuels at the European Energy Council. Mr Davey said that the idea of a one-size-fits-all approach to the issue of indirect land use change
March 05, 2013 Read Full Article
Canada, Renewables and the Courtroom Wallah
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Take some process heat and steam and CO2 from an ethanol plant — add a greenhouse, then stir and bake — what do you get? A whole bunch of healthy food, and fuel, and
March 05, 2013 Read Full Article
Renewable Fuel Standard Is Working as Intended
by Ed Ulch (The Gazette) ... World Grain stated in its February issue that “Grain-based food companies had record stock performance in 2012.” Big oil companies are touting high food prices to stir the public and create resistance to renewable fuels
March 01, 2013 Read Full Article
That Darn Devil, Them Dang Details: What’s Really Driving Food Prices?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In the new USDA long-term forecasts, rising global meat consumption stands out as a driver of rising food prices, exports. ...But you might ask yourself — in a world where you can find hyperbole linking hunger
February 15, 2013 Read Full Article
New DOE Research: RFS a Proven Economic Success with Minimal Impact on Food Prices or Land Use
(Renewable Fuels Association) A new research article published last month in the academic journal Biofuels concluded that the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is producing significant positive economic effects in the United States. According to the paper, authored by researchers at the Department of Energy’s
February 14, 2013 Read Full Article
Soybeans Could Be Next Chapter of Biofuels Boom
by Tom Doran (AgNews) ...Under the current Renewable Fuels Standards, continued growth in corn-based ethanol use is uncertain do to several factors, including the 10 percent blend wall, slow implementation of higher blend, declining total gasoline demand and ethanol imports
February 12, 2013 Read Full Article
Murkowski Energy Plan Would Gut the RFS
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) On Feb. 4, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, released an energy blueprint that calls for a wide variety of changes to U.S. energy policy,
February 11, 2013 Read Full Article
Glencore Director Says Corn Use in Biofuel Questionable
by David Brough (Reuters) A director of commodity trading giant Glencore on Sunday questioned the conversion of corn into ethanol biofuel, saying it can contribute to higher prices. Critics of using foodstuffs to make fuel say the process can drive up food
February 10, 2013 Read Full Article
RFA Condems UN Biofuels & Food Security Study
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Earlier this month, the U.N. Committee on World Food Security (CFS) has released a draft study on biofuels and food security with a public comment period until January 30, 2013. Yesterday, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) submitted comments about the
February 02, 2013 Read Full Article
2012 Food Price Increases Were Second-Lowest in 20 Years
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) Food prices rose just 1.8% in 2012, the second-lowest annual rate in the last 20 years, according to recently released consumer price index (CPI) data. The new data demonstrates the absurdity of the alarmist
February 02, 2013 Read Full Article
Letter to the Editor — RFA Responds to “Ethanol Scam Driving Up Food Prices”
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association) ... In his column, “Ethanol Scam Driving Up Food Prices,” (Tulsa World, January 11), Andrew P. Morriss presents his own opinions and his own facts. Contrary to Mr. Morriss, ethanol production doesn’t “drive up food
January 15, 2013 Read Full Article
Energy Advisor: Host of Factors Affect Food Prices
by Sarah Bittleman (Dairy Herd/USDA) Rob Green’s recent Wall Street Journal op-ed “The cause of higher grocery bills isn’t the drought. It’s the failed federal ethanol policy” fails to take into consideration a host of factors, other than demand for corn, that affect
December 20, 2012 Read Full Article
EPA Renewable Fuel Standards Cost Wendy’s $174 Million in Costs
by Christopher Goins (Politic365.com) The chairman of Wendy’s Restaurant’s supply chain cooperative, which is responsible for food purchases for Wendy’s Restaurants, says that because of EPA Renewable Fuel Standards every individual Wendy’s Restaurant has to pay $20,000 to $30,000 more per
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
IISD-Led Seminar Offers Global Perspective on Biofuel Subsidies: Issues Policy Brief
(International Institute for Sustainable Development) “Rational policies should be based on understanding the real impacts of government support to biofuels on the environment and the society,” said Sirpa Pietikäinen, MEP and chair of GLOBE EU. “The spiralling food versus fuel
December 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Response to National Council of Chain Restaurants RFS Guest Editorial
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association) ... In regard to the November 28th op-ed, “A Mandate to Raise Food Prices” by Rob Green, Executive Director of the National Council of Chain Restaurants: If he really believes that the major cause of higher
November 29, 2012 Read Full Article
True or False: 10 Percent of US Corn Crop Used for Ant Repellent
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Well, that’s an absurd headline, isn’t it? False, false and false. It’s ridiculous, misleading and harmful to conclude that 10 percent of the US corn harvest is used for ant repellent – just because 10 percent
November 29, 2012 Read Full Article
The Role of Biofuels in a Warming World
RP Siegel (TriplePundit) ... We know that the 14 billion gallons of ethanol produced by American agriculture last year displaced close to 10 billion gallons of gasoline, reducing carbon emissions that contribute to warming. Biofuel also increased energy independence and
November 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Is It Time to Stop Putting Food in Our Cars?
by Kenneth P. Green and Elizabeth DeMeo (American Enterprise Institute) The ethanol mandate continues to do more harm than good — inflicting environmental damage, raising food prices, and distorting energy markets. ... Ethanol and Food Prices ... Ethanol and Gas Prices ... Environmental Impacts ... The
November 01, 2012 Read Full Article
In a World Hungry for Biofuels, Food Security Must Come First
by Olivier De Schutter (The Guardian) ...The new starting point should be to put food security first. Globally, 25% of land is already degraded, and the remaining productive areas are subject to ever-greater competition from industrial and urban uses. This is
October 26, 2012 Read Full Article
Study: Waiving RFS Could Increase Feed Costs for Livestock, Poultry Producers
(Renewable Fuels Association) Waiving the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in 2013 could actually result in higher net feeding costs for livestock and poultry producers, according to a new analysis conducted by Cardno-ENTRIX and commissioned by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). The study found that if a
October 15, 2012 Read Full Article
Are High Grain Prices Good for Anyone?
by Roy Roberson (Southeast Farm Press) • Sounds like a good deal for grain growers and a bad one for livestock producers and consumers, but are such high prices really good for any of us? • Allan Baucom says the last
October 02, 2012 Read Full Article
Crop Prices Probably Peaked After Drought Cuts U.S. Output
by Luzi Ann Javier (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) Rallies in corn, wheat and soybeans because of drought in the U.S., the top grains shipper, are probably over and it would need worsening weather elsewhere to push up futures, said Macquarie Agricultural Funds
September 24, 2012 Read Full Article
EU U-Turn Spells Doom for Food-Based Biofuels Boom
by Nigel Hunt and Charlie Dunmore (Reuters) European Union plans to cap the use of food-based biofuels are a major setback for an industry once seen playing a central role in the fight against climate change, but now more often cast
September 21, 2012 Read Full Article
Global 2012 Corn Crop To Be Second Largest in History: OECD Official’s Comment on Biofuels Misguided
(Global Renewable Fuels Alliance) Today (September 20, 2012) the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) criticized OECD senior counsellor, Carmel Cahill, for making unsubstantiated comments targeting the role of biofuels mandates in food price inflation. Evidence from a recent World Agricultural
September 21, 2012 Read Full Article
AIRSHOW-Airlines Grapple with Food vs Biofuel Debate
by Maria Sheahan and Victoria Bryan (Reuters) ...Airlines, keen to cut pollution from jet fuel ahead of EU penalties from next year, and biofuel associations at the Berlin ILA air show this week said their research focused on how best
September 19, 2012 Read Full Article
Paris Backs Halt in Biofuel Use to Avert Food Shortages
(EurActiv) A French plan to fight food price volatility took further shape yesterday (12 September) with a call to pause global development of biofuels, just a day after President François Hollande pushed for creation of strategic food stocks. A government spokeswoman,
September 17, 2012 Read Full Article
Biofuel Target Will Add £35 Every Year to the Cost of Running a Car
by Louise Gray (The Telegraph) Drivers will be forced to pay an extra £35 a year due to a European climate change target, a report by Oxfam has found. ...The report states that a family currently spends an average £840 a
September 17, 2012 Read Full Article
Food vs Fuel: Can We Get it Off the Table?
by Robert Vierhout (Ethanol Producer Magazine/EPURE) ...If a magazine like the Economist is writing that the U.S.A. uses 40 percent of its corn for the production of biodiesel (yes, he said biodiesel), you wonder if the journalist really went any further
September 13, 2012 Read Full Article
Market Speculators, Oil Drive High Food Prices
by Mike Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. drought, disastrous as it is, does not signal Armageddon for food prices, biofuels and the poor. First, one needs to understand that the main drivers behind rising corn prices, even in today’s
September 13, 2012 Read Full Article
Fears of Global Food Price Crisis Recede
by Nigel Hunt and Veronica Brown (Reuters) * USDA report paints less severe corn crop picture than feared * FAO says situation seems comfortable * Analysts still wary on prices as U.S. corn harvest in early stages The third global food price spike
September 13, 2012 Read Full Article
France Seeks Biofuels Pause in Global Food Strategy
by Elizabeth Pineau and Sybille de La Hamaide (Reuters) * France pushes for worldwide pause in biofuel growth * Biofuels push joins Hollande's call for strategic food stockpile * France says will mobilise G20 for better farm coordination A French plan to fight food price volatility
September 13, 2012 Read Full Article
Ethanol and the Journalism It Attracts
by Terry Daynard (The Record) Opinion pieces about fuel ethanol have been popular among national journalists this summer, most seem written quickly and researched poorly. The one published recently by news services columnist Carol Goar in The Record (Ethanol is
September 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Exclusive: EU to Limit Use of Crop-Based Biofuels - Draft Law
(Reuters) The European Union will impose a limit on the use of crop-based biofuels over fears they are less climate-friendly than initially thought and compete with food production, draft EU legislation seen by Reuters showed. The draft rules, which will need
September 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Food Crises and Technological Phobia
by Drew Kershen (BioFortified) ...I do not write to enter the debate focused on fuel standards, markets and commodity speculators. I acknowledge that other factors also contribute to food crises, particularly in developing nations – e.g., underfunded agricultural research and
September 07, 2012 Read Full Article
UN: No Evidence of New Food Price Crisis
(ABC News) Prices of basic foods remained flat in August, offering assurances that a repeat of the global food price crisis that sparked rioting several years ago is unlikely, U.N. food agency officials said Thursday. While current prices are still high,
September 07, 2012 Read Full Article
Hard to Pass Food-Price Spikes on to Consumers
by Neil Shah (The Wall Street Journal) America’s widest drought since 1956 has killed corn, soybean and wheat crops and raised the risk of higher prices for everything from hamburgers and Coke to cooking oil. But how bad are prices
September 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Hits Back over Food Price Claims
(EurActiv) Europe's biofuel producers are hitting back at claims that they are at fault for this summer’s high food prices and challenge assertions that crops grown for fuel production are a threat to food supplies. Food prices rose 6% overall last month, driven
August 28, 2012 Read Full Article
Biofuels Lobby Asks Obama to Keep US Ethanol Mandate Amid Drought
(Platts) Eight groups representing a cross section of the US biofuels industry asked the White House on Monday to keep the ethanol mandate in place, despite governors' calls to shrink it in response to a drought. The trade groups argued that
August 28, 2012 Read Full Article
Biofuels and Agricultural Commodity Prices
(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe) IEEP, the Institute for European Environmental Policy, has produced a review of the evidence base on the impacts of EU biofuel policies on global agricultural commodity prices, commissioned by ActionAid. Following up on the debate on indirect land use
August 26, 2012 Read Full Article
New Biorefinery Finds Treasure in Starbucks' Spent Coffee Grounds and Stale Bakery Goods
(EurekAlert!/American Chemical Society) With 1.3 billion tons of food trashed, dumped in landfills and otherwise wasted around the world every year, scientists today described development and successful laboratory testing of a new "biorefinery" intended to change food waste into a
August 21, 2012 Read Full Article
Drought Sparks Intense Fight over RFS Waiver
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...Talk of a possible renewable fuel standard (RFS) waiver request became a reality in mid-August, when the U.S. EPA was officially petitioned. The clock starts on a 90-day deadline and a public comment period
August 20, 2012 Read Full Article
Court Ruling Paves Way for E15 Gas Use
by Robert Pore (The Grand Island Independent) Higher ethanol blend could be used by nearly two-thirds of vehicles on road On Friday, the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its
August 20, 2012 Read Full Article
Updated Assessment of the Drought's Impacts on Crop Prices and Biofuel Production
by Bruce Babcock (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development) ...The sharply lowered production estimates suggest the preliminary assessment of the impact of the drought on crop prices and biofuel production that I conducted last month needs to be updated. 1 In the
August 17, 2012 Read Full Article
EPA to Approve Sorghum for Cleaner Ethanol; Experts Say Grain Has Less Impact on Food Prices
(The Washington Post/Associated Press) The federal government is on the verge of approving a grain mainly used as livestock feed to make a cleaner version of ethanol, a decision officials say could give farmers a new moneymaking opportunity, boost the
August 16, 2012 Read Full Article
EPA Should Reject NC Gov’s RFS Waiver Request, Says RFA
(Renewable Fuels Association) Responding to an official waiver request of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) released the following statement: “The Environmental Protection Agency should reject Governor Perdue’s waiver request out
August 15, 2012 Read Full Article
10 Ways Ethanol is Helping Livestock Producers
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) ... (E)thanol production provides multiple benefits to Midwestern livestock producers: 1. The ethanol industry has driven the production of a larger corn crop. Simply put, there is more corn to go around. 2. The ethanol industry will bear the
August 13, 2012 Read Full Article
Ethanol Credits May Ease Pressure on U.S. Corn, IEA Says
by Nariman Gizitdinov (Bloomberg) Ethanol credits held by U.S. refiners may help reduce demand for the blending fuel and ease pressure on rising prices of corn, from which ethanol is made, the International Energy Agency said. The credits, known as Renewable Identification
August 13, 2012 Read Full Article
New Biofuels Offer Hope to Hungry World
by James Melik (BBC News) ...The chairman of the world's largest food producer is highly critical of the rise in bio-diesel. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe of Nestle says crops produced for biofuel use land and water which would otherwise be used to grow
August 10, 2012 Read Full Article
Food and Fuel: Back on the Table
by Robert Vierhout (ePURE/Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...Other favorite critics such as Oxfam also see the present situation as a new opportunity to slam the EU biofuel policy. The head of the EU office crucifies the policy in a July 16 article
August 09, 2012 Read Full Article
Fighting the Good Fight
by Tom Buis (Growth Energy/Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...Though it sometimes can be easy to lose sight, the increasing challenges we face are directly correlated to our achievements. In particular, with higher blends of ethanol in gasoline gaining greater acceptance, we
August 09, 2012 Read Full Article
COLUMN-U.S. Use of Corn for Ethanol Is High but Hyped: Wynn
by Gerard Wynn (Reuters) ...It has now become ubiquitous to quote the ethanol industry's corn consumption at 40 percent of the national crop. But the estimate is inaccurate, by assuming away ethanol co-products and in particular so-called "distillers grains" which substitute
August 09, 2012 Read Full Article
World Faces Economic, Not Caloric, Famine
(AgWired) Farmers of the world are producing enough food to meet the demands of wiping out all hunger in the world. But hunger still exists. Why? Dr. Chris Mallett, Corporate VP of Research and Development for Cargill explains it’s a
June 15, 2012 Read Full Article
Speculation Blamed for Global Food Price Weirdness
by Brandon Keim (Wired Science) The link between commodity speculation and global food price weirdness just got stronger, and researchers warn that a new and potentially calamitous price bubble is imminent. Previous research had blamed a combination of food-to-fuel crop conversion
March 08, 2012 Read Full Article
Farmers to Plant Most Acres Since 1984, Prompted by Higher Crop Prices
by Jeff Wilson and Whitney McFerron (The Washington Post) ...Global food costs are down 11 percent from a peak a year ago as grain output rises from China to Canada, U.N. data show. ...The Agriculture Department affirmed its forecast for moderating food costs last month.
February 14, 2012 Read Full Article
After Three Decades, Tax Credit for Ethanol Expires
by Robert Pear (New York Times) ...“We are in a fairly prosperous period for agriculture,” said Dean C. Taylor, a former president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association. “Agriculture has not been as much of a touchstone for presidential candidates this
January 09, 2012 Read Full Article
Environmental Outlook: Declining Political Support for Ethanol
host: Laura Knoy (NPR/The Diane Rhem Show) America’s ethanol industry is booming. The U.S. is projected to become the world’s biggest ethanol exporter by the end of the year. In the past, Congress has strongly supported the industry. Now it
November 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Price Volatility – Causes and Consequences
(Gant Daily) ...G20 countries in their June 2011 ministerial declaration recommended measures such as building grain reserves, a global market information system and regulating financial transactions in commodities markets. But economists like Brian Wright, professor of agricultural and resource economics at the University
October 26, 2011 Read Full Article
A Next-Generation Biofuel Strategy
by Warren Mabee and Donald L. Smith (The Star) Global energy prices are on the rise, as are food prices and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Advanced biofuels can address all of these problems, and Canada, with its large biomass reserves and
October 26, 2011 Read Full Article
New Bioproducts Market to Outgrow Biofuels
by Deanna Lush (Stock Journal) ...As part of the study, former University of Guelph, Ontario, professor of crop science Terry Daynard compared grain supply and prices from the 1970s - where biofuel production was not an issue - and more
October 26, 2011 Read Full Article
Report Faults Wall Street for High Energy Prices
by Ben Protess (New York Times) A new report by Better Markets, a nonprofit group advocating constraints on speculative trading, blames Wall Street for inflating prices at the gas pump and the grocery store. The study centered on commodity index funds, investments
October 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Misinformation Abounds in Debate over Energy
by Jim Nussle (Growth Energy/Waterloo Courier) op ed: As the thousands of Iowans whose livelihoods depend on farming and renewable fuels know, an argument against ethanol is really an argument for America's status quo addiction to foreign oil. It is
October 12, 2011 Read Full Article
US Must Stop Promoting Biofuels to Tackle World Hunger, Says Thinktank
Suzanne Goldenberg (The Guardian) Global Hunger Index says US government support for corn ethanol was a factor in this year's food price spikes America must stop promoting the production of biofuels if there is to be any real progress in addressing spiking
October 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Denham: Ethanol Policy Closed Turlock Farm
(Modesto Bee) Rep. Jeff Denham is citing the state's policies in the closure of Fulton Valley Farms of Turlock, set to happen by mid-January because of rising feed costs. The high cost of feed is a direct result of ethanol mandates
October 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Commodity Traitors: Financial Speculation on Commodities Fuels Global Insecurity
by Eric Michael Johnson (Scientific American) ...But new financial instruments have now been introduced that have taken food inequality to levels unheard of in the eighteenth century. As it turns out, there is a downside to playing with your food. Research
September 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol: One Market for a Growing Corn Supply
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...According to the USDA, corn farmers produced an average yield of 152.8 bushels of corn per acre in 2010, up 30 percent from the average 20 years ago. Most markets for corn, such as
September 29, 2011 Read Full Article
The Food Crises: A Quantitative Model of Food Prices Including Speculators and Ethanol Conversion
by Marco Lagi, Yavni Bar-Yam, Karla Z. Bertrand, Yaneer Bar-Yam (Cornell University) Recent increases in basic food prices are severely impacting vulnerable populations worldwide. Proposed causes such as shortages of grain due to adverse weather, increasing meat consumption in China and India,
September 26, 2011 Read Full Article
Fast Food Chains Place Order for No New Ethanol Subsidies
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Anti-ethanol interests have launched their latest campaign focused on ensuring the demise of ethanol subsidies with a letter sent Sept. 15 to all members of Congress urging them not to pass any last-minute extensions
September 19, 2011 Read Full Article
House Hearing Ignores Critical Facts about America’s Ethanol Industry
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association) America’s ethanol producers are on pace to produce nearly 40 million metric tons of livestock feed in 2011 – a volume greater than all the corn used on cattle feedlots all across the country.
September 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Remains a Sensible Alternative to Oil
by Stephanie Dreyer (Growth Energy/Baltimore Sun) Letter to Editor: Karen Hosler's recent opinion piece calling for an end to ethanol subsidies ("End the ethanol charade," Aug. 30) uses sweeping generalizations that distort the truth about grain ethanol's role in fostering
September 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Increase in Demand from India, China to Drive up Food Prices: Obama
(The Economic Times of India) US President Barack Obama today highlighted the need to develop biofuels out of things that do not involve fuel chain, arguing that increase in demand from India and China would drive up the food prices. "As
August 18, 2011 Read Full Article
US Corn-Belt Farmers: 'The Country Has Turned on Us'
by Suzanne Goldenberg (The Guardian) As Congress reviews 30 years of corn ethanol subsidies, the global food crisis has shone a negative light on biofuel production There were times when Arlyn Schipper could almost feel heroic on his family farm in