Latin America Divided Over Ethanol

[Robbien]

Source: Christian Science Monitor

U.S. Efforts To Promote Alternative Fuel Have Caused Food Price Increases In Region

This article was written by Sara Miller Llana.

"We're not against biofuels. They are viable alternatives, as long as they don't negatively affect the lives of the inhabitants of the region." Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez calls the boom in ethanol the equivalent of starving the poor "to feed automobiles."

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Now poultry industry executives, who have seen the price of feedstock go up; Mexican consumers, facing a 60 percent jump in the cost of tortillas; and even environmentalists, who look at the amount of fertilizer that will be needed to grow extra crops, are wondering aloud whether ethanol will help or hurt Latin American economies.

The South American energy summit that concluded in Venezuela this week provided the latest platform for critics. Even though the debate has been cast as another issue in the long line of ideological battles aligning Chávez and Cuban leader Fidel Castro against the U.S., some analysts say that their point is larger than political: If the price for staple food items rises across the globe because of demand, Latin America will be one of the hardest-hit regions.

"I think people worry that rich Americans are trying to fuel cars at the expense of hungry people in poorer countries," says Janet Larsen, director of research at the Earth Policy Institute in Washington. "This increased push for ethanol production could be an incredible foreign policy blunder."

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/20/world/main2709604.shtml