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Global food supply and the impacts of increased use of biofuels

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  • Nonhebel, Sanderine

Abstract

In recent years prices on global food markets showed large fluctuations. The use of biomass as energy source (biofuel) in the developed world is frequently mentioned as one of the reasons for this instability. This paper compares the need for biofuel and needs for food and feed on global scale. A simple model is developed to estimate present and near future global needs for food, livestock feed and energy. We distinguish between developing countries, transition countries and the developed countries. The first group of countries needs extra food for their growing population, the second one needs extra feed, since the increased incomes among their population lead to increased demands for animal products. The developed countries require biomass to reduce the CO2 emissions of their energy use. On global scale the extra needs for biomass as a fuel (1100 MT) turn out to be larger than the extra needs for food and feed (800 MT each). At present the developed countries are food exporters, their produce is essential for several food insecure countries in Africa and Asia. The increased need for biomass for energy is likely to affect these exports and therefore affect food security in parts of the world.

Suggested Citation

  • Nonhebel, Sanderine, 2012. "Global food supply and the impacts of increased use of biofuels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 115-121.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:37:y:2012:i:1:p:115-121
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2011.09.019
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. World Bank, 2008. "World Development Indicators 2008," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 11855, December.
    2. Nonhebel, Sanderine, 2007. "Energy from agricultural residues and consequences for land requirements for food production," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 586-592, May.
    3. Ajanovic, Amela, 2011. "Biofuels versus food production: Does biofuels production increase food prices?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 2070-2076.
    4. Timilsina, Govinda R. & Shrestha, Ashish, 2011. "How much hope should we have for biofuels?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 2055-2069.
    5. World Bank, 2008. "World Development Indicators 2008," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28241, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Johansson, Bengt, 2013. "Security aspects of future renewable energy systems–A short overview," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 598-605.
    2. Ge, Jianping & Lei, Yalin & Tokunaga, Suminori, 2014. "Non-grain fuel ethanol expansion and its effects on food security: A computable general equilibrium analysis for China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 346-356.
    3. Vicente E. Montano & Rosalia T. Gabronino & Restie E. Torres, 2019. "The curious relationship between agricultural and energy price index: A Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) analysis approach," Journal of Administrative and Business Studies, Professor Dr. Usman Raja, vol. 5(3), pages 161-177.
    4. Schaffartzik, Anke & Plank, Christina & Brad, Alina, 2014. "Ukraine and the great biofuel potential? A political material flow analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 12-21.
    5. Fazal Um Min Allah, 2015. "Financial Analysis Of Using Jatropha Oil As Fuel In Diesel Engines," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 0, pages 201-206, July.
    6. Antar, Mohammed & Lyu, Dongmei & Nazari, Mahtab & Shah, Ateeq & Zhou, Xiaomin & Smith, Donald L., 2021. "Biomass for a sustainable bioeconomy: An overview of world biomass production and utilization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    7. Chmielewski, Łukasz, 2021. "Supply and Demand Situation and Prices on the Global and Polish Sugar Market," Problems of Agricultural Economics / Zagadnienia Ekonomiki Rolnej 319810, Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics - National Research Institute (IAFE-NRI).
    8. Henrik Saxe & Lorie Hamelin & Torben Hinrichsen & Henrik Wenzel, 2018. "Production of Pig Feed under Future Atmospheric CO 2 Concentrations: Changes in Crop Content and Chemical Composition, Land Use, Environmental Impact, and Socio-Economic Consequences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-18, September.
    9. de Castro, Carlos & Carpintero, Óscar & Frechoso, Fernando & Mediavilla, Margarita & de Miguel, Luis J., 2014. "A top-down approach to assess physical and ecological limits of biofuels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 506-512.

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