The us demand for corn-based ethanol could cause nutrient-pollution in the Gulf of Mexico, expanding its dead zone, say scientists. The dead zone forms in the Gulf of Mexico every summer

France Says Food Should Take Priority Over Biofuels FRANCE: April 14, 2008 PARIS - Production of food must take precedence globally over biofuels as prices surge and the threat of famine grows, France's farm minister said on Friday, calling for a European Union initiative on world supplies. "Absolute priority must be given to agricultural production for food," French Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier told Reuters, saying France would unveil proposals at next Monday's European Union Agriculture council.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged his Japanese counterpart to include the impact of biofuel production on food prices on the agenda of the G8 summit in July, Downing Street said Thursday. "There is growing consensus that we need urgently to examine the impact on food prices of different kinds and production methods of biofuels, and ensure that their use is responsible and sustainable," Brown wrote in a letter to Yasuo Fukuda.

Advice for those trying to solve the global food crisis: do not start from here. As governments across the developing world impose export bans on staple foods, further worsening the shortages on inter

As Prices Rise, Farmers Spurn Conservation By DAVID STREITFELD Published: April 9, 2008 Paul Devlin works at a bakery in Tampa, Fla. The bakery's owner said the price he paid for flour had doubled since October. Thousands of farmers are taking their fields out of the government's biggest conservation program, which pays them not to cultivate. They are spurning guaranteed annual payments for a chance to cash in on the boom in wheat, soybeans, corn and other crops. Last fall, they took back as many acres as are in Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

Reuters Summit - US Seen Importing Ethanol, But Tariff Uncertain US: April 7, 2008 WASHINGTON - The United States will need to import more sugarcane-based ethanol to meet renewable energy mandates, a top US official said, but he stopped short of recommending that a controversial ethanol tariff be lifted. "If our goal is to reduce hydrocarbon usage and to increase ethanol usage, that is going to happen through cane-based production," Tom Shannon, the top US official for Latin America, said in the Reuters Latin America Investment Summit on Friday.

India has expressed concern over the increasing use of food grains for the production of bio fuels.

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's recent visit to India with a 100-strong industry team should be seen against the need to contextualise south-south cooperation amidst the fait accompl

For years, anti-poverty campaigners railed against low commodity prices, which depressed farmers' incomes in developing countries.