More limited cropland shifted from food production to fuel production could would drive up food prices. That’s just basic economics. The biggest joke is that there rally is not a food shortage on earth just a distribution problem, but that brings us closer to a critique of capitalism, yikes!

I honestly can’t believe so called earth first!ers are taking a position to defend car fuel production, in any form. More cheap fuel in a capitalist context will just cause people to drive more, more roads more roadkills more shitty car culture.

Alternative energies are really a miseducation as a solution on there own. They will allow us to avoid learning how to curb consumption- the real disease that is killing the planet.

I say fuck biofuels

“I recently read somewhere that in response to rising food prices worldwide, some people are asking for regulation on speculation which they blame for the higher prices. I’ve decided to take the time to explain why this is seriously dumb.

What is speculation? It is the attempt to predict the market in the future. I foresee a reason that there might be a shortage of supply in commodity X, so I buy futures now at a lower cost than I anticipate the price will be when it is delivered in the future. There is a possibility that I may be wrong of course, and the market will determine a price for futures based on what people as an aggregate think is going to happen to commodity X’s market in the future. If the futures market gives a high anticipation of rising prices, its price will be high. The added bonus of the futures market is that a producer can sell his goods on it at the start of the season and rest assured that he will receive a predetermined price for it at the end, no matter what events may turn between, thus securing his investment in production.

The producers will see this speculation and respond in two ways:
1) they will try to defer sales today as much as possible and reallocate them further in the future where the market anticipates it will be needed most by selling futures, ie conservation.
2) they will prepare themselves to increase output in the future to take advantage of the higher prices, and thus profit.

Prices are signals. They are essential for the producers to know how and when to apply resources to best serve the consumers. The result of trying to suppress speculation is that we will have MUCH more serious food shortages in the future.”

Your second point about futures belays a lack of knowledge about what futures are. I’m not going to take the time right now to fully explain what they are, suffice to say that you should seriously find out for yourself. It may pass with the ignorant to say such a thing, but people who know how the market works will mock you. Futures are extremely beneficial and important.

No, government subsidies are partly responsible for the current jump in food prices. Government subsidies distort the market and drive the allocation of crop resources away from the mouths of the poorest and into biofuel production. I will grant you that it is only partly responsible, the other huge factor being the weakness of the dollar.

Look, even the World Bank agrees with me:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/03/biofuels.renewableenergy

I’m not saying higher oil prices wouldn’t contribute at all, of course they would, but higher input prices would match the price of inflation and not necessarily affect this trend as much of the higher demand for corn.

Also, don’t forget all the plows and transportation of the crops that are skyrocketing in price due to high gas prices and also don’t forget foreign investors snapping up grain because of the weak dollar.

Also, corn ethanol (which is indeed the most inefficient kind) is not only unedible corn by humans but it’s being given a massive subsidy. Sugar-based ethanol from Brazil has a huge tariff on it.

For environmental concerns, we just need to let the new algae-based way take effect and remove the massive subsidy and tariff. Corn industry has taken off to due the previously mentioned reasons, we don’t need either anymore. And it’ll help the environment.

(Oil companies don’t need their massive subsidies either).

Nice site!