DEVELOPMENT: Challenging the Bio-fuel-Hunger Paradigm

by Indranil Banerjie , IPS Inter Press Service - Development on Oct 14, 2008

NEW DELHI, Oct 14 (IPS) - Participants at The Third India-Brazil-South Africa
(IBSA) Business Forum 2008
came together here to debunk the
belief that development of bio-fuels would
invariably exacerbate
global hunger. Conventional wisdom has it that increased

production of bio-fuel -- particularly ethanol -- will
invariably result in
decreasing acreage for food grain
production, rising food prices and a surge in
hunger and
malnutrition. Participants at the Forum -- held in New Delhi
during
the lead-up to the third IBSA Summit -- declared that
this was not necessarily
true.