Biofuels, food speculation pushing further land grabs

(CommonDreams) – “Out of control” land grabs by foreign corporations in the last decade have taken over an area big enough to grow food for a billion people, according to a report published Thursday from Oxfam (pdf). And the continued push for biofuels and recent food price spikes may lead to even further grabs, the group says. Read the rest of this entry »

(NaturalNews) – A recent report issued by the European Union has revealed that biofuels, or fuel made from living, renewable sources, is not really all that beneficial to the environment. Rather than reduce the net carbon footprint as intended, biofuels can produce four times more carbon dioxide pollution than conventional fossil fuels do. Read the rest of this entry »

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With the cost of food recently skyrocketing – hitting not just shoppers but the poor and hungry in the developing world – genetically modified (GM) foods are once again being promoted as the way to feed the world. But this is little short of a confidence trick. Far from needing more GM foods, there are urgent reasons why we need to ban them altogether. Read the rest of this entry »

Last night President Barack Obama gave a lengthy State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. While hitting on important issues such as the economy and jobs, his mere mention of climate change science drew laughter and guffaws from the gathered dignitaries and legislators. Read the rest of this entry »

(Bloomberg) – International Paper Co., the world’s largest pulp and paper maker, plans to remake commercial forests in the same way Monsanto Co. revolutionized farms with genetically modified crops. Read the rest of this entry »

Over half of the food produced globally is lost, wasted or discarded as a result of inefficiency in the human-managed food chain, finds a new study by the United Nations Environment Program released today. Read the rest of this entry »

Corn-based bioethanol has higher burden on environment and human health, says US study.

Some biofuels cause more health problems than petrol and diesel, according to scientists who have calculated the health costs associated with different types of fuel. Read the rest of this entry »