Food for Fuel

As I mentioned previously, the media has reported with great fanfare the introduction of bioethanol to Japan. Hooray for technology! People will pay a premium to be "green" but will bitch and moan when the price of gasoline goes up. Sure enough, just in time for Golden Week and 30km traffic jams, the price of gasoline was hiked between 2 to 7 yen on May 1st. According to the Asahi Shimbun [in Japanese], the price of gas has risen to 137 yen a liter due to higher costs incurred by a weak yen and higher crude oil prices. The higher gas prices received wide coverage on the evening news with reporters asking the man in the street for his reaction. To no surprise, nobody welcomed the price increase.

For some perspective, this is the first time the price of gasoline has risen past the 130-yen level since February, and is slowly creeping its way towards the record of 144 yen/liter set in September last year.

Back to bioethanol, had an article that illustrates one of the side effects of switching to biofuels:

Major beverage manufacturers will increase the price of fruit juices from May due mainly to a rise in the price of oranges in the international market caused by a boom in demand for bioethanol that has prompted many orange farmers to switch to sugarcane.

Sugarcane is a raw material for bioethanol, which is an alternative auto fuel to gasoline.

The rise in the price of oranges is having a knock-on effect on the price of other juices, such as apple and grapefruit, according to industry sources, causing industry concern over sales.

Sadly, the focus is on money: farmers are substituting fruit trees for sugarcane (because it pays more), the price of fruit juice is increasing, and the industry is worried about sales. The article illustrates the dilemma we face in using biofuels: do we grow food to eat or for fuel? This shouldn't be an issue, but it looks like fuel is taking precedence over food. Do we intend to starve ourselves in the pursuit of profit?