ABSTRACT
Under present circumstances and projections, the biofuels project, as the purported solution to the energy and climate crises, is more likely to deepen these crises as well as the food crisis. Politicians with short-term horizons-driven by the exigencies of a system of states that need to renew their legitimacy by stabilizing currencies, consumer/energy prices, and employment-appeal to notions of “green capitalism” as they mandate emissions targets and subsidies that empower the biofuel industry. This nexus between government and the private sector is embedded in a fuel-food complex that underlies such ag—ation and only compounds
11.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 357 11.2 The food/fuel crisis .............................................................................. 358 11.3 The socioenvironmental impact ......................................................... 361 11.4 The biofuel complex ............................................................................. 364 11.5 Biofuels, development, and global ecology ....................................... 369 11.6 Conclusions ............................................................................................ 373 References ........................................................................................................ 375
these three crises. Thus, palm oil, “now used widely in food products ranging from instant noodles to biscuits and ice cream, has become so integrated into energy markets that its price moves in tandem with crude oil prices” (Green‰eld, 2007, p. 4). In 2008, price in—ation of such a basic commodity as cooking oil, essential to even those who grow their own food, disproportionately disadvantaged the poor.
