Searching words for sustainable biofuels

L. Landeweerd; M. van der Veen; P. Osseweijer

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Searching words for sustainable biofuels

In: Global food security: ethical and legal challenges

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L. Landeweerd

L. Landeweerd l.landeweerd@tudelft.nl

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M. van der Veen

M. van der Veen
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P. Osseweijer

P. Osseweijer
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 301–306

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.3920/9789086867103_049

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Agriculture has always been used to produce food, feed, fiber, fuel and feedstock. The balance between these uses has changed over the centuries. There is now pressure on land and water resources to produce enough food and other products for an increasing population and to improve our carbon footprint by increased forestation. Modern technology makes it possible to use agricultural products much more effectively for fuel or feedstock. To be able to meet the demands for energy, it has been suggested that crops for biomass production should be grown in the developing countries, where more land is available than in developed countries, specifcially Europe. Furthermore, the production potential of tropical developing countries is much higher than temperate countries. Growing biomass and processing it in developing countries may aid the economies involved, increasing local welfare. But due to an increase in the demand for biomass, specifically in the developed countries, pressure will increase on the use of land of emerging economies. NGOs and others have expressed serious concerns with regard to the protection of rainforests and other ecosystems but also to the rights of the populations of the developing countries. About 900 million people suffer from malnourishment globally, only a marginal percentage lives in the developed countries. If the land that would be used for bioenergy would replace the food production this problem may increase. In that case it would not be defendable to produce the raw material for biofuels and feedstock for the developed countries in developing countries. On the other hand a large percentage of the energy use in Africa presently comes from locally collected wood, a very unsustainable use of biomass. Experts therefore suggest that integration of agriculture for food and energy would actually enhance the local quality of life. This however requires a mutual vision and coerced strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa. Second generation biofuels using modified yeasts may enhance this solution, but it would also demand adjustments of the local infrastructures. The concept sustainability that is currently used functions too much as a ‘thick concept’ to analyse the ethical issues involved. Distributive justice cannot be applied in this context of a global justice as there is too much asymmetry in the issues involved and in the power between the different stakeholders at hand. In this paper, we will use the concept of human dignity to ‘refine’ the analysis of the current debate on biofuel production.

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Global food security: ethical and legal challenges

E-Book ISBN:: 9789086867103

Publisher:: Wageningen Academic

Print Publication Date:: 30 Oct 2010

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- Life Sciences

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Searching words for sustainable biofuels

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Global food security: ethical and legal challenges

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