Human Ecology article by Pimentel, Cornell colleagues aims to reignite “food vs fuel”, “net energy return” debate on biofuels

An article by longtime biofuels critic David Pimentel in Human Ecology aims to reignite the food vs fuel debate, reporting that US mandates for biofuels increase reliance on fossil fuels and unethically reduce food production in a malnourished world.

The Pimentel research team conclude there is not enough US biomass available to make the US energy independent, and reports a negative energy return on soy biodiesel of 623 percent, with a 58 percent negative return for canola biodiesel and negative 46 percent for corn ethanol.

The study, remarkably, concludes that the production of second generation ethanol from switchgrass has a 50 percent negative energy return. The article details additional problems from biofuel production including pollution, soil erosion and a contribution to global warming.

The authors state that growing biofuels “exacerbates the problem of malnourishment worldwide by turning food grain into biofuels”.

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