Food crisis: Europe burns equivalent of 15 million loaves of bread every day in cars

(Transport and Environment, 24 Mar 2022) Europe’s biofuels lobby is pushing for more crop burning despite collapse in supplies of key grains from Ukraine and Russia and impending global food crisis

Europe turns 10,000 tonnes of wheat – the equivalent of 15 million loaves of bread [1] – every day into ethanol for use in cars, a new study shows. Transport & Environment, who carried out the study, calls for a halt to the burning of wheat and other food crops in biofuels and has labelled the biofuels lobby’s push for increased production as ‘immoral’ in a time of acute global food shortages. 

Maik Marahrens, biofuels manager at T&E, said: “Every year we burn millions of tonnes of wheat and other vital grains to power our cars. This is unacceptable in the face of a global food crisis. Governments must urgently stop the burning of food crops in cars to reduce pressure on critical supplies.”

Removing wheat from European biofuels would offset more than 20% of the collapsed Ukrainian wheat supplies to the global market, according to the study. In countries like Egypt, which imports over 60% of its wheat, mainly from Russia and Ukraine, these additional supplies to the market would be life saving.

Today, a group of leading European NGOs, including T&E, has called on governments to immediately halt the use of food crops for fuel. Ensuring stable energy supplies to people and the economy must not come at the expense of food security or lead food price inflation to spiral out of control, says the group.

[1] Based on a typical 750 gram loaf.

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Transport and Environment, 24 Mar 2022: Food crisis: Europe burns equivalent of 15 million loaves of bread every day in cars

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