U.S and EU must cut back on biofuels - UN adviser
(Planet Ark 06 May 08) The United States and Europe should cut back on production of biofuels because they are hurting food supply at a time of rising prices, an adviser to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday.
Biofuels derived from crops have come under attack in recent weeks on fears they compete with food for farming land and help to push up food prices, worsening a global crisis that is affecting millions of poor.
"We need to cut back significantly on our biofuels programmes," said Jeffrey Sachs, a prominent US academic who is a special adviser to Ban on anti-poverty goals.
"(They) were understandable at a time of much lower food prices and larger food stocks but do not make sense now in a global food scarcity condition," Sachs told a news conference.
Planet Ark 06 May 08: U.S and EU must cut back on biofuels - UN adviser
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