Biofuels are bad ... India

[Colonâ„¢]

Originally posted by VJ
It's really rather amusing to see how the Evil Person Who's To Blame continues to stay the same as the situation changes. When food crops were underpriced because of massive domestic subsidies by US and EU15 governments, The Man was to blame for oppressing developing countries because their farming industry was not profitable. Now that the international price is suddenly increasing because of new sources in demand, The Man is to blame for cruelly starving the helpless people in developing countries.

werd

[Provost Harrison]

And ignore sound advice at their peril. I completely agree. It is just best averted if possible otherwise you face a humanitarian and ecological disaster.

And "we" is a rather generic term. I'm not referring to the developed or developing world in particular.

[Kidlicious]

I think they are justified in their concern. This is capitalism we are talking about, and money rules the world.

[Dinner]

BTW my opinion remains that higher prices are a long term good thing though I would like to see the US stop subsidizing ethanol made from corn. End the tariff on sugar and start making ethanol from sugar. Why should we relay on hyper processed corn syrup when it is both cheaper and easier to use real sugar?

Oh, because politicians in fly over country love their protected markets.

[korn469]

Originally posted by Riesstiu IV
Biofuels?! I got your biofuels right here, hippy! *throws puppy into incinerator*

omg! you're on a roll two threads in a row that you've made me laugh!

[aneeshm]

I don't know the context of his statements, but from the article, I would assume they are criticisms of artificial incentives created by the governments of the respective countries which distort the market in such a way as to divert food into biofuel which would, given a free market, not have been so diverted.

As for his credentials - he was the person who, along with the current Prime Minister (who was Finance Minister back then) introduced the reforms which turned India from a socialist into a nearly free-market economy, and is also the reason why I'm growing up surrounded by a wave of prosperity and optimism which my father and grandfather could scarcely have dreamt of even fifteen years ago.

[Dracon II]

He think's its only developing nations that are suffering? I have to purchase my tomatoes on an instalment plan!

But then down here we have had drought and water shortages for a long time so its not biofuels strictly speaking that are to blame. But they don't help!