Útek k biopalivám môže spôsobiť hlad
V nasledujúcich 20 rokoch je pre globálnu populáciu reálna možnosť vzniku nedostatku potravy .
Top British Government official has warned that the rush towards biofuels is threatening world food production and the lives of billions of people.
"It's very hard to imagine how we can see the world growing enough crops to produce renewable energy and at the same time meet the enormous demand for food," he told a conference on sustainability in London yesterday," he said.
Beddington said that by 2030, the world population would have increased to such an extent that a 50 per cent increase in food production would be needed. By 2080 it would need to double. But the rush to biofuels - allegedly environmentally friendly - meant that increasing amount of arable land had been given over to fuel rather than food.
According to Beddington, biofuels have already contributed to the rapid rise in international wheat prices and it is likely to be only a matter of time before shoppers in Britain faced big price rises because of the soaring cost of feeding livestock.
The official also said that the prospect of food shortages over the next 20 years was so acute that politicians, scientists and farmers must begin to tackle it immediately.
"Climate change is a real issue and is rightly being dealt with by major global investment," said Beedington.
Population levels are growing so fast already that an extra six million people are born every month.
"Growing enough food for everyone was further challenged because of climate change, which was likely to lead to a shortage of water," said Beddington.
Zdroj: thelondonnews.net
18.03.2008
