A United Nations forum on Millennium Development Goals this week featured a discussion on energy and biofuels that allowed the CEO of world’s largest ethanol producing company a chance to share ideas on how ethanol can help address both poverty and energy dependence in developing nations.

As one of two presenters at the private sector forum roundtable on energy and biofuels at the UN on Wednesday, Jeff Broin of POET shared his vision of what he believes is one of the greatest opportunities our world has seen in decades.

“With a billion acres of idled cropland across the globe and the price of agricultural commodities above the cost of production for the first time in decades there is an unbelievable opportunity for underdeveloped countries to simultaneously lift people out of poverty and solve their crippling addiction to energy imports,” Broin said.

He stressed that with new technology and better seed varieties, agriculture is able to meet the growing demand for food and fuel without harming the environment. “By combining science with nature, the 21st century ethanol industry continues to make great strides in efficiency and innovation,” Broin added.

Read Broin’s entire address to the UN forum on Rhapsody in Green.