St. Vincent PM Criticizes Use Of Food For Fuel
ST VINCENT - The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, has become the first Caribbean leader to publicly air his concerns about the development of bio-fuels as a replacement for petrol.
8 November 2007
2 minute read
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| Dr. Ralph Gonsalves |
Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has condemned what he called the mad haste in the world to use corn to feed vehicles rather than poor people.
The bio-fuels made from food crops like corn and sugar cane, are seen as a important alternative to conventional transport fuels like gasoline and diesel as our supplies become more concentrated among the few producing countries.
However, some experts say that by using such crops, bio-fuels potentially compete with food production, threatening higher food prices.
Dr. Gonsalves said this has led to US price rises in corn fed to cattle and poultry.
"That is why the price of beef gone up, the price of chicken gone up, the price of milk, the price of cheese and it has gone up because there is a mad haste in the world to use corn to feed vehicles rather than feeding poor people," he said.
