[Peakoil] Stick to food or switch to fuel: farmers must decide

[Antony Barry]

Peakers

This is loopy. World grain reserves per capita are lower than they  
have been for
30(?) years and the main grain producing areas in India and the US  
midwest rely on ground water which is running out. We are going to  
end up with people starving so that we can drive SUVs.

Tony

Stick to food or switch to fuel: farmers must decide

WITH the world facing an oil crisis, farmers will have to decide  
whether they are in the food or the fuel business, the Agriculture  
Australia Conference in Sydney heard yesterday.

Speakers urged governments to offer incentives such as free parking  
for biofuelled cars while others warned biofuels could result in  
people going hungry.

The conference also heard that moratoriums on genetically modified  
crops had to end to help a domestic biofuels industry.

The United States now has more than 100 ethanol plants, and  
development is being encouraged by tax breaks and the mandating of  
ethanol use in fuel.

A US agricultural consultant, Terry Reinhart, said ethanol businesses  
were booming, and US politicians "can't get their names attached to  
ethanol quick enough. It's a vote getter."

Millions more hectares of corn would have to be planted just for  
ethanol use.

"Do we want to eat it or do we want to burn it?" Mr Reinhart said.

More at http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/stick-to-food-or-switch- 
to-fuel-farmers-must-decide/2006/08/09/1154802960554.html

phone : 02 6241 7659 | mailto:me at Tony-Barry.emu.id.au
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