For Brazil, US and EU Farm Subsidies and Not Biofuels Are the Villain

Corn The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, made an impassioned defense of biofuels rejecting that they are responsible for the recent rise in global food prices, during the opening ceremony of a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) conference in Brazilian capital BrasÀ­lia.

President Lula also criticized industrial countries for subsidizing agriculture, which he blamed for undermining the competitiveness of developing nations and reducing world production.

"Biofuels aren't the villain that threatens food security," he said adding that "on the contrary … they can pull countries out of energy dependency without affecting foods."

A chorus of opposition to biofuels has been growing in different parts of the world in recent months. Environmental groups, government ministers and even world leaders like President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Cuba’s Fidel Castro have all voiced their concerns that the use of crops like sugar-cane and corn to make fuel for cars could lead to a serious food crisis.

Critics claim biofuels are also partly responsible for the recent rise in global food prices.

And Jean Ziegler, the UN Special Rapporteur for Food Rights and a Swiss national, has described biofuel production as "a crime against humanity."

President Lula, whose country is the world's largest exporter of biofuels such as ethanol made from sugarcane, said it was easy for someone sitting in Switzerland to preach to Brazil.

He said allegations that global food prices were rising because of biofuels were baseless. Food prices were going up, he said, because people in developing countries like China, India and Brazil itself were simply eating more as their economic conditions improved.

The president has signed several important cooperation deals with the US, another leading biofuels producer, as well as with several African countries, to work together to improve production.

The battle against biofuels has united a dichotomous group ranging from environmental activists to the leaders of some of the world's largest oil producing countries

"The real crimes against humanity are discarding biofuels and criticizing countries, energy dependence and food insecurity," he said. "If there is no reduction of agricultural subsidies in Europe, it will be difficult for poor countries to be competitive".

Mercopress

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil Spends 16% of Its GDP in Social Programs

The Social Direct Budget of the Brazilian federal government in 2004 was US$ 98.98 ...

Brazil: Past Haunts Lula’s Government

John Fitzpatrickby: AB  At this time last year, when it was becoming apparent that ...

Brazil’s Pantanal Wetlands Doomed to Disappear in a Few Decades

The growth of farming and cattle ranching in western Brazil could destroy the world’s ...

Brazil’s Varig Starts to Spread Wings Overseas Again with Six Agreements

Varig, Brazil's former flagship airline, which has started to emerge from the ashes after ...

Brazil Displaces Mexico as Most Attractive for Foreign Investment in LatAm

In a global context of weaker foreign direct investment, FDI, in emerging markets because ...

Brazil Thickens the Ranks of Its Middle Class by 40 Million in Less than a Decade

39.5 million Brazilians became part of the middle class between 2003 and May 2011, ...

Brazilian Indians: Above Any Suspicion or Law

The Constitution of Brazil is extremely generous in all it says about indigenous rights. ...

Asia’s Need for Food Gives Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul a Boost

The southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul saw its exports grow 22% ...

US Group Asks for End to Steel Duties Against Brazil

Members of the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) testified today at the International Trade Commission’s ...

Brazil’s Yanomami Leader Gets Death Threats from Illegal Goldminers in the Amazon

Brazil’s Yanomami shaman and spokesperson Davi Kopenawa, who has led the struggle for the ...