2.26.2008 9:47 AM

Biofuels or Food

Poor Countries Might Not Receive Food Aid While U.S. Uses Corn for Fuel

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Palestinian workers carry flour bags at a United Nations food aid distribution center in the Gaza Strip

Photo: Adel Hana / AP Photo

By Annie Bell Muzaurieta

The skyrocketing price of grain might cause the United Nations' World Food Program to cut off food aid to some of the world's poorest countries.

Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to pass mandates on the production of biofuels, most of which will be ethanol made from corn. According to the Los Angeles Times, the U.N. has developed a tool for assessing the impacts of biofuel production on food security, but the research was not considered by Congress before it passed the mandate.

Grain prices have soared due to droughts and floods, which have reduced stocks, and partly because more cultures are consuming more meat, using grain to feed livestock. The article suggests that ethanol is making the situation worse: the U.S. is the world's top corn exporter, and about a quarter of last year's crop went to ethanol.

According to the article, the World Food Program says it will have to raise $500 million more just to accomplish scheduled operations.

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