To mark World Nutrition Day (18 October), the German Catholic charity Misereor has drawn attention to the risky competition between use of plants for food and their exploitation as “biofuels’. “The growing demand for plants such as sugar beet, palm oil, soya or maize to produce energy represents a danger for the poor populations of the developing countries”, said Bernd Bornhorst, Misereor’s expert on development policy. “The first effects are already being seen: in Indonesia, the price of cooking oil has risen by some 30 percent, since palm oil, the most important oil for cooking in Asia, is now treated also as a fuel in the form of ‘biodiesel’. Palm oil producers can earn far more with exports than they can on the local market: oil for cooking is thus becoming increasingly rare and consequently more expensive on the local market. For the poor, basic nutrition becomes practically inaccessible”, he added. In the developing countries, the plants destined to be exported for the production of energy are cultivated in extensive areas with a considerable use of pesticides. Situations are thus created that penalise farmers, who are forced to accept a pittance for their crops. That’s why Misereor has asked for the application of social and environmental standards for the importation of ‘biofuels’, to ensure they do not contribute to the hunger and impoverishment of the southern hemisphere. At the same time the humanitarian organization is supporting local initiatives, for instance in Brazil, aimed at ensuring that workers may claim their own rights and ask their own governments for the introduction of transparent policies aimed at reducing poverty.
