Biofuels to blame for food prices

A leaked report from the World Bank argues that biofuel production is to blame for the majority of the recent spikes in food prices.

The cost of food has increased by 140% since 2002.

According to the Bush administration, 2-3% of this can be attributed to biofuels; the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates this figure at 30%.

However, a report by Don Mitchell, the leading agricultural economist at the World Bank, estimates that 75% of the increase in food prices since 2002 can be attributed to biofuel production.

The draft report was leaked to the Guardian newspaper, who speculated that it had been hushed up to avoid embarrassing the Bush administration.

Mr. Mitchell responded to the accusations by saying that the report was just a draft, and contributed to a final report on biofuels that was released by the World Bank in April this year.

Needless to say, the final report did not include Mr. Mitchell’s calculations.