Beer or Biofuels-The Ultimate Challenge

A disturbing story appeared today in the UK’s Independent.

Biofuels may be good for the environment, but they are bad news for German beer drinkers. Prices in the country’s pubs look set to rise by 40 per cent this year, because Germany’s farmers are growing less barley for beer production and more crops for biodiesel and bioethanol. read the rest here.

——————————————————-

Richard Weber, the head of the German brewers association had this to say, “The energy and food sectors are competing for the same raw materials and the same acreage.”

This story raises several questions and the first one is; Isn’t beer a food? 

Ethanol plants and biodiesel refineries are popping up all over Minnesota and the Midwest and everyone is going yea, rah, rah. Politicians are giddy and eager to pass legislation that promotes biofuels. You really can’t blame them because it helps the agricultural industry, creates jobs, and supposedly helps the environment. It is a win/win situation.

Or is it?

Corn prices are escalating which results in higher food prices. Crop farmers are now looking at land that is in conservation acres, hoping to convince the government to let them plow it up and plant more corn. Large national and multi-national corporations are eyeing up the local plants.

Are we creating many problems trying to solve one?

Maybe the beer drinkers will have to figure this one out.

____________________________________________________________ 

 You can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer. — Frank Zappa

Peace & solidarity,

CHC