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Switzer, Stephanie --- "Biofuels, Food Security and the WTO Agreement on Agriculture" [2012] ELECD 122; in McMahon, A. Joseph; Desta, Geboye Melaku (eds), "Research Handbook on the WTO Agriculture Agreement" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Research Handbook on the WTO Agriculture Agreement

Editor(s): McMahon, A. Joseph; Desta, Geboye Melaku

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848441163

Section: Chapter 10

Section Title: Biofuels, Food Security and the WTO Agreement on Agriculture

Author(s): Switzer, Stephanie

Number of pages: 22

Extract:

10 Biofuels, food security and the WTO
Agreement on Agriculture
Stephanie Switzer


I. INTRODUCTION
The past ten years have witnessed a flurry of interest in the promotion
of biofuels as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels. Biofuels may
be defined as `liquid or gaseous fuels produced from biomass that can
be used to replace petrol, diesel and other transport fuels' (Keam and
McCormick, 2008: 8). At present, biofuels are commercially available
in two forms: bioethanol and biodiesel. Bioethanol is suitable for
blending with conventional petrol and is produced from crops
containing starch or sugar such as sugar cane, sugar beet and corn.
Biodiesel, the term given to `fatty acid methyl ester' (FAME), has been
touted as a replacement for conventional diesel and is produced in
large part from plant oils such as palm oil and rapeseed (Kojima et al.,
2007: 29; Petillion, 2005). Both ethanol and biodiesel may be processed
at a range of scales, from a subsistence level to large-scale industrial
production intended for international markets.
Biofuels produced from food crops such as corn, sugar and
vegetable oils are generally referred to as `first generation' biofuels.
There is, however, growing interest in so-called `second generation'
biofuels derived from lignin, cellulose and hemi-cellulose, although
such fuels are not currently in commercial production and are unlikely
to be for a number of years (Howse et al., 2006: 7). It is anticipated that
when production of second-generation biofuels becomes commercially
viable, they will be able to garner larger ...