Voice of America (curiously) slams US biofuels policy, links biofuel support to food price increases

The Voice of America, usually the most reliable supporter of US policy on the airwaves, criticized US biofuel policy in a recent broadcast, linking biofuels to higher grain prices.

A VOA special broadcast stated that “the government has strongly supported ethanol production….As a result, farmers are planting more corn. But more hectares of maize for ethanol mean fewer hectares for crops like soybeans. Meat producers now have to pay more for soybeans because there is less available for animal feed. This is how corn-based ethanol affects the price of meat products….Now, there is worry that the increasing demand for food could drive prices too high, hurting the buying power of the world’s poor.”

The Voice of America is funded by the US government to promote American values and policies abroad.

Text of the broadcast was also made available online.

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