Food vs. Fuel.

Food or fuel is a debate of an international scope. The debate is about the

dilemma of producing biofuels from food crops. The argument made is that using food
crops too produce fuel will lead to higher prices of crops making it harder for the poor to
survive. The debate has valid arguments on both sides.

Production Process of Ethanol

Ethanol is considered as one of the most important biofuels of the time. Ethanol
can be produced using many crops; the two most widely used crops for ethanol
production are corn and sugarcane. Ethanol is a first-generation biofuel which means it is
produced from sugar, starch, vegetable oil or animal fats. By pressing corn vegetable oil
is obtained and sugar is extracted from sugarcane. Maize is another crop used extensively
to produce ethanol in USA. Ethanol then is used in place of gasoline or in combination
with gasoline.

Efficiency
Ethanol has an energy content of 21.2 Mega Joules per liter (21.2 MJ/L)
compared to regular gasoline which has an energy content of 34.8 Mega Joules per liter
(34.8 MJ/L). This means that ethanol is 61% as efficient as regular gasoline. However,
ethanol is usually sold in a blend called E85 which is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. E85
is 72 % as efficient as regular gasoline.

Price
U.S.A
Average price of E85 across USA in 2010 was $2.56 per gallon as compared to
average price of regular gasoline which was $2.86 per gallon for 2010. E85 in 2010 was
at an average 10 % cheaper than regular gasoline.
Brazil
Brazil is considered to have the world’s first and largest sustainable bio fuel
economy. In Brazil it is mandated by government to blend gasoline with ethanol. E25 is
the fuel which is commonly sold in Brazil; it consists of 75 % petroleum and 25 %
ethanol. The average price of E25 (regular gasoline in Brazil) in 2010 was $5 per gallon
whereas, the average price of E100 (100% ethanol) was $2.69 per gallon. Pure ethanol,
E100, in 2010 was at an average 46 % cheaper than regular gasoline, E25.

Importance
One of the most important characteristics of ethanol is that it is renewable. It can
be made from almost anything, and can be efficiently be produced by a number of crops.
Ethanol can be kept in production even after the world runs out of oil reserves. It is
important because unlike fossil fuels ethanol can be produced on any agricultural land.
Today, it is the forefront in the combat against oil dependency.
Apart from this Ethanol is also important because it is a more environmental
friendly fuel than gasoline. It can also provide important reductions in the green house
gas (GHG) emissions. The estimated GHG emission reduction is 86%-90% for Brazil and
10%-30% for USA. The difference in the GHG emission reduction is mainly due to the
different crops used to produce ethanol in the two countries. USA uses maize and corn
whereas Brazil uses sugarcane.
Another important feature of producing ethanol is that it raises the incomes in the
agricultural industry. It has been said that ethanol production if increases may double the
income of farmers in ten years.

2008 Food Crisis

• Price
From 1974 to 2005 real food
prices dropped by 75% (adjusted for
inflation). However, from 2005 to 2008
food prices saw a steep increase.
• Production

The Debate:
Side One: If fuel is produced from food crops the prices of the food crops will rise

Side Two: If fuel is produced form food crops the prices will not rise because