Ending the Food vs Fuel Debate

The food versus fuel debate might now find closure after Ilva Gelfand of the Michigan State University and colleagues analyzed 17 years data and arrived at the conclusion that using productive farmland to grow crops for food instead of fuel is more energy efficient. The study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology considered energy balances of an entire cropping system over many years.

"It's 36 percent more efficient to grow grain for food than for fuel," said Ilya Gelfand. "The ideal is to grow corn for food, then leave half the leftover stalks and leaves on the field for soil conservation and produce cellulosic ethanol with the other half." Co-author Phil Robertson, a University Distinguished Professor of crop and soil sciences and one of the paper's authors, added that: "Given finite land resources, will it be more efficient to use productive farmland for food or fuel? One compromise would be to use productive farmland for both – to use the grain for food and the other parts of the plant for fuel where possible. Another would be to reserve productive farmland for food and to grow biofuel grasses – cellulosic biomass – on less productive land."

Read the press release from MSU at http://news.msu.edu/story/7750/