A secret World Bank report has revealed that bio fuel production has had a significant influence on the rising global prices of food. Global food prices have increased over 75 percent over the last two years and bio fuels are largely to blame according to the report.

This strongly contradicts the United States government’s claim that bio fuels have only affected world food prices by only 3 percent.


In a drive to minimize dependency on foreign oil sources and to reduce greenhouse gases governments in Europe and North America have turned to bio fuels as a political fix.
 
The World Bank report has yet to be published, some senior development sources say that it’s publication delay is a diplomatic move to spare President Bush political embarrassment during his last days in office.

“It would put the World Bank in a political hot-spot with the White House,” said one World Bank source.
 
President Bush has long maintained that the increase in food costs is the result of the population and income growth in India and China. The World Bank report disputes that assumption.
  
“Rapid income growth in the developing countries has not led to large increases in global grain consumption and was not a factor in the large price increases,” states the report.

There is another report not being published that could prove to be equally damning to British politicians. The Gallagher Report which was commissioned by the British government will state that edible plant fuels has contributed “significant” impetus to the rise of food costs. 

“Political leaders seem intent on suppressing and ignoring the strong evidence that bio fuels are a major factor in recent food price rises,” said Robert Bailey, policy adviser at Oxfam. “It is imperative that we have the full picture. While politicians concentrate on keeping industry lobbies happy, people in poor countries can not afford to eat.” 

Food prices have increased by 140 percent between 2002 and this February. The World Bank report deals with the rise in the price of oil and fertilizer prices but concludes that they only contributed to a 15 percent increase in food costs, while bio fuels were responsible for an increase of 75 percent over the same period of time.
 
A third of the current U.S. corn production is earmarked for bio fuels. In Europe nearly half of the vegetable oil production is being diverted into the manufacturing of bio diesel. When the profits of speculators are added into the equation the cost of foods jumps even higher.

“It is clear that some bio fuels have huge impacts on food prices,” said Dr David King, the government’s former chief scientific adviser. “All we are doing by supporting these is subsidizing higher food prices, while doing nothing to tackle climate change.”

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