As talks are beginning in Rome about the factors behind and solutions to world food price inflation, Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen called on world leaders attending the summit to consider the issue in its entirety.
“Addressing issues of food security is a matter of great importance that cannot be taken lightly. As world leaders meet in Rome this week to discuss the price and availability of food worldwide, it is critical they examine all factors impacting food equally and without prejudice,” Dinneen said in a statement. “They must agree on solutions that do not derail the one industry that has significantly reduced oil consumption, while having little overall impact on the price of food – biofuels.”
Dinneen says he believes representatives from the United States at the conference, including Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer, will do a good job in addressing the misinformation about biofuels that has been causing global concerns.
“Secretary Schafer and other USDA staff are going to be aggressively promoting the biofuels agenda and correcting a lot of the misinformation that is in the world press,” said Dinneen. “And we are confident that he will continue to point to the fact that it is other factors driving food price inflation, not biofuels.”
Dinneen says other world leaders will also stand by biofuels at the conference. “I am certain that Brazilian President Lula and other forward looking leaders of the world will see that this demonization of biofuels is misguided.”
The United Nations High-Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy is being held in Rome June 3-5. Besides Schafer, other members of the US delegation include U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance Henrietta H. Fore and Agriculture Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Dr. Mark E. Keenum.
Listen to the Ethanol Report with Dinneen’s comments here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/rfa/ethanol-report-14.mp3]