Biofuels are a controversial issue at the moment, with some studies showing that they are environmentally friendly and others showing them as making things worse. So, what exactly is green fuel/biofuel?
A biofuel is any fuel that comes from plant matter or animals, and as such, it usually has a low carbon footprint and can be renewable. They have been increasingly used for heating homes and powering vehicles in recent years, but there has been a lot of debate about whether or not they should be used because the food production needed to create them can compete with growing crops for people to eat.
Darren Dohme will now talk about how the use of biofuels and green fuels are making the food crisis worse.
How Biofuel is Worsening the Food Crisis per Darren Dohme
Effects of Biofuel on Food Crisis
According to Darren Dohme, the main issue with biofuels is that they are competing for land and crops used to grow food. For example, in order to create biofuel, the land needed to grow these crops has to compete with other types of land usage, such as growing food. Therefore, there is less land available for farming which means that prices increase.
In addition, there have been studies showing that using biofuels instead of fossil fuels, this can put more pressure on water resources which could potentially lead to even higher food costs.
Possible Solutions to the Biofuel-Food Crisis
Darren Dohme believes that while there are many potential solutions to the biofuel-food crisis, they are not always easy to implement. For example, some believe that it would be better if we shifted our focus away from food crops and instead used the land for other things, such as forestry, which could produce green fuel without competing with food crops.
Unfortunately, this type of shift is often met with resistance because people don’t want to give up their land for things like forestry. As such, it may be necessary for governments and organizations to provide incentives for farmers in order to encourage them to use their land differently in order to help reduce the pressure on food prices due to biofuels.
Another possible solution is to create higher standards for green fuel. Some biofuels are more controversial than others, depending on how they are produced, such as those that use land and crops for fuel instead of food.
In contrast, other types of biofuel can actually be quite environmentally friendly. By encouraging the production of these eco-friendlier forms of biofuel, we could reduce the competition with food crops and help improve the overall food supply.
Final Thoughts by Darren Dohme
One thing that people need to understand about the push for green fuel and biofuels is that although it may sound good in theory and seem environmentally friendly initially, just because something is “green” doesn’t mean it necessarily offers any real benefits.
Ultimately, the effects of biofuels on the food crisis are still unclear, and more research is needed to further understand the impact that they have on both our environment and our global food supply. Until then, Darren Dohme is of the opinion that we should continue to be wary of any policy or program that advocates biofuel usage as a solution to our global energy needs.