P i s t a c h i o

At the close of the Food Summit in Rome last week, observers weighed in on what was essentially sad news: the best 181 delegate countries could agree on was further study of biofuel’s impact on an international food crisis.

The summit’s final declaration called for status quo on three fronts: continued farm subsidies, which will contribute to keeping the price of corn high, government-mandated biofuel content for gasoline and diesel, which keeps the demand in place, and import barriers, such as the one on Brazil’s sugar cane ethanol, which is a sweet alternative to corn, which makes it difficult to bring on stream in North America.

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Some numbers tell some stories …

From the Globe and Mail:

250% — The increase in American corn prices since 2006

3% — The portion of corn-price increases attributed to ethanol, says U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Shafer

30% — Is more like it, says Washington’s International Food Policy Research Institute

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From the New York Times:

50% — The portion of biofuel [mainly American corn ethanol] accounting for the worldwide demand for food crops last year, according to the International Monetary Fund

37 — The number of countries in critical need of food assistance right now