Encouraged by governments, land previously used to grow food is being switched to grow plants like sugar cane and corn to produce fuel for cars.

This has restricted the supply of food crops to worldwide markets – pushing food prices up rapidly.

• To fill up a car with 25 gallons of ethanol takes 204kg of corn – enough to feed a single person for an entire year._¹
• Hefty European and US subsidies have promoted a massive biofuels expansion, making up to 30 per cent of the recent rise in world food prices. _²
• 30 million people have already been made hungry by biofuels, while another 260 million have been placed at risk of hunger._¹
• On some estimates, European and US biofuel subsidies are worth US $15.7 – US $17.7bn a year, or four times as much as all OECD aid to agriculture in the developing world._²

STOP FUELING HUNGER - What must happen -

1. European countries and the USA must end targets and subsidies for biofuels
2. There should be a 5 year freeze on using arable land for biofuel production.
3. Developing country governments must regulate biofuel companies to make sure they’re not damaging local food production.

• More on the real causes of hunger
• Return to the Biofuels homepage
• Download ActionAid's new report on Biofuels - Meals per gallon: the impact of industrial biofuels on people and global hunger

Notes
1. ActionAid Cereal Offenders policy report July 2008 http://www.actionaid.org/docs/cerealofendersjapan_g8.pdf
2. ActionAid Cereal Offenders policy report July 2008 http://www.actionaid.org/docs/cerealofendersjapan_g8.pdf