Making soybeans into biodiesel is no food versus fuel competition – rather it is food AND fuel.
“When you talk about soy biodiesel, you can actually burn the soy and eat it too,” says Jim Hershey, who is executive director for both the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) Program and the World Soy Foundation.
During a World Food Prize luncheon sponsored by the soybean industry on Thursday, Hershey said that when you take the oil to use as a fuel, you’re still left with every bit of protein from the soybean. “By raising more soy for biodiesel, we actually raise more protein and that’s what the world needs,” Hershey said.
Hershey says they have calculated that of the 100 million gallons of soy biodiesel produced in Iowa last year, “the protein that came from those beans would feed 30 billion rations of soy” based on 25 grams per day.
Listen to an interview with Hershey here:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/world-food/wfp-08-hershey.mp3]
You can also download the audio with this link: Jim Hershey at World Food Prize (mp3)