Group offers food for thought
By MARTÍN E. MARTÍNEZ / Vida En El Valle
(Published Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 09:10AM)
SACRAMENTO -- More than 20 organizations from California and other states are lobbying the state and U.S. Congress to reject the policy of converting some crops into fuel, because they believe it raises the price of basic commodities.
The announcement was made last week by Food Before Fuel, a coalition of environmentalists, religious leaders, food distributors and grocery chains. The group believes the policy of converting food into fuel violates moral and ethical principles.
"Food products like corn and soy that are used to produce ethanol should be used to feed the poorest people and not to make fuel; this is a moral question," said Drue Brown, former commissioner of the California Food and Agriculture Board.
Besides the moral question, critics said they are concerned about rising food prices.
Last year the U.S. Congress approved the Energy Independence and Security Act to convert more than a third of corn and soy production into fuel. Experts blame the act for greatly increasing the price of various basic food products.
According to the International Monetary Fund, the price of food has gone up as much as 30 percent since the new policy took affect.
"This policy has caused food prices to rise, not only nationally but globally, so we must take bipartisan action on this problem and find a solution so we don't depend on food to make fuel," said Caroline Silveria, director of state affairs for the Grocery Manufacturers Association.
Another area impacted by this initiative is the environment. As farmers increase production to satisfy the new demand, they clear large swaths of forest for agriculture, and use more chemicals and water, the coalition alleges.
"We should invest in the development of cleaner energy like solar instead of federal mandates that threaten to destroy decades of progress in environmental protection and raise the price of food," said Bill Walker, president of the Environmental Working Group.
Michelle Reinke, director of legislative affairs for the National Restaurant Association, said restaurants are among the most heavily impacted industries by the increased consumption of fuel made from food.
"Restaurants all over the country face a serious crisis caused in large part by the rise in food prices; there's no doubt that the cause of the problem is that every day more food is used for energy, which we absolutely condemn," Reinke said.
She added that the situation has caused the price of restaurant meals and drinks to rise by 30 percent in the last three years.
Not everyone agrees with Food Before Fuel.
"This is a big lie and they only tell it to divert the attention of the American public so people don't notice the real problem," said Roger Salazar, spokesperson of the organization California Renewable Fuels Partnership.
Salazar said the problem arises not from the use of food as fuel but from the high price of gasoline and other factors in the international economy.
"This group (Food Before Fuels) only serves the interests of the big oil companies and supermarkets. They say problem No. 1 is ethanol, but in fact problem No. 1 behind the high price of food is that gasoline is over $4 a gallon," Salazar said.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the production of food for purposes like producing ethanol has increased food prices by only 3 percent.
Salazar added that, on the contrary, using ethanol prevents the price of gasoline from rising even further.
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