Do biofuels pose a threat to securing the right to food?

Biofuel production has introduced a new pressure into the global food system, providing fresh competition for land and water, and playing a contributing role in the global food price volatility witnessed since 2008.

While biofuels can add value to local agriculture, the right to food can be threatened by large-scale biofuel plantations which displace food production in developed and developing countries, raising local food security concerns, and pushing agriculture into new areas – putting an additional strain on the environment and ecosystems.

The Special Rapporteur is therefore monitoring both public biofuel mandates and subsidies in the developed world, and the impacts of biofuel investment and changing land use trends in developing countries. A position paper on biofuels will be published by the Special Rapporteur in early 2012, building upon an expert roundtable the SR convened in November 2011.