The idea of turning farms into fuel plants seemed, for a time, like one of the answers to high global oil prices and supply worries. That strategy seemed to reach a high point last year when Congress mandated a fivefold increase in the use of biofuels.

EU Environment Chief Raises New Biofuels Condition BELGIUM: April 16, 2008 BRUSSELS - The European Union's environment chief raised new conditions on Tuesday for the use of biofuels in road transport, saying social concerns such as food prices and food security must be taken into account. Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas did not explicitly question the EU's target of producing 10 percent of road transport fuel from crops and biomass by 2020, but he made clear that goal must be subservient to strict conditions.

Fuel Choices, Food Crises and Finger-Pointing Published: April 15, 2008 Food Prices Rise But now a reaction is building against policies in the United States and Europe to promote ethanol and similar fuels, with political leaders from poor countries contending that these fuels are driving up food prices and starving poor people. Biofuels are fast becoming a new flash point in global diplomacy, putting pressure on Western politicians to reconsider their policies, even as they argue that biofuels are only one factor in the seemingly inexorable rise in food prices.

Europe's Food Supply Not At Risk From Biofuels

Biofuels Threaten Food Access In Latin America

EU Can Hit Biofuels Goal Without Conflicts - Germany SLOVENIA: April 14, 2008 BRDO - The European Union can achieve its 2020 target to get 10 percent of all transport fuel from biofuels without adding to soaring food prices and harming rainforests, Germany's environment minister said on Saturday. "We can meet the 10 percent target through biofuel production in the European Union (and imports of) raw materials, which do not lead to a conflict with food or rainforests," Sigmar Gabriel told reporters on the fringes of a meeting of EU environment ministers in Slovenia.

Chances are you've heard of hybrids and biofuels, but what about oil-producing yeast and turbinelike buoys that transform ocean waves into electricity?

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.