The War Between Food and Energy
Today climate change is acknowledged by all except the most doubtful skeptics. Warmer temperatures in areas where its supposed to be cool, scorching summers, and bone chilling winters have become a pattern that we no longer can simply ignore.
What The War About?
The demand for cheap energy is causing people to become desperate and many are turning to bio-fuel like it’s the cure for all energy shortages. So what is bio-fuel? It is any gaseous, solid, or liquid material derived from biological materials. Bio-fuel’s raw materials are usually agricultural crops that undergo fermentation and certain other processes in order to produce bio-fuel. Crops made into bio-fuel can not be eaten, thus begins the conflict.
The Problem
Those countries with the highest number of vehicles running their roads like the United States, England and most of the European nations want more and more fuel. Because bio-fuel is made from corn, sugarcane, palm oil, vegetable oil, etc, most often from crops grown in Third World Countries, competition has grown between food and bio-fuels.
In Mexico, there is now a “tortilla crisis”. Corn, which is the basic ingredient of tortilla, is now being sold at five times the price it once sold for. The reason for the increased prices? The demand of corn for making bio-fuel. Why sell corn for a dollar when you can now get five dollars because the demand is much higher.
Who Suffers?
Highly developed countries will have to import produce from the third world countries to fuel their increasing demand for bio-energy. Third world countries are usually tropical ones located near the equator. Longer growing season produce higher yields of corn and other crops needed to manufacture bio-fuel. However, for these countries corn is also used for food. So is sugar cane. For the first world too produce enough bio-fuel, people in poorer countries must work longer and harder to be able to afford the higher prices or go without the most basic of all necessities: food.
A Compromise
So what should we do? We must solve the problems of the environment and pollution caused by using fossil fuels, but in doing so we are creating another equally important problem. If the farm laborers can’t afford food, who will till the land to supply the crops for bio-fuel?
Sustainable energy is supposed to improve life, not make it harder. The solution may be that develped countries will need to find a way to help underdeveloped counties plant new crops. These crops must not be those intended for use by local consumers. Stringent rules governing pricing and distribution will be necessary to keep those crops used for food sources separate from those planted for energy.
Sustainable power means the world working hand in hand to create a better way of life for all. A successful solution to the competing demands for food and bio-fuel crops will require hard work, dedication and compromise.