Beyond the ‘food vs. fuel’ dichotomy: The facts on biofuels and food security in Europe
ePURE's David Carpintero writes in Ethanol Producer Magazine: "Europe’s biofuels sector produces one of the most cost-effective and sustainable alternatives to fossil oil while also contributing to both EU energy independence and food security. But unfortunately, constant changes in EU policy direction—sometimes based on wrong assumptions and misleading dogma such as the “food vs. fuel” myth, have slowed progress and hampered investments.
"Despite their proven track record of contributing significantly to the fight against climate change, reducing imported fossil fuel, generating high-protein animal feed and strengthening rural economies, innovation and productivity, the EU’s biofuels and agriculture sectors are consistently criticized and given short shrift in policy discussions relating to food security and energy independence.
"In other biofuels-producing countries around the world, these synergies and contributions are better understood and valorized. But in the EU, some policymakers keep chanting the 'food vs. fuel' argument like a mantra in papers and reports—even though a majority of members of the European Parliament, motivated by facts and conscious that biofuels are indispensable to achieve our collective goals, voted last September to keep sustainable biofuels in the EU transport energy mix."
