Attempts to use certification schemes to reduce the widespread environmental and social problems caused by growing crops for fuels and animal feeds are bound to fail, states a new report by Friends of the Earth groups. The report was released in Buenos Aires before a meeting to discuss the certification of growing soy, a crop expanding rapidly to meet the increasing demand for fuel and the world's most-used animal feed. The report comes amid global worries about the increasingly tragic impacts of rising food prices. Biofuels have often been blamed as one factor driving this trend.

Peru's government plans to restrict biofuel production to secure its food supply. According to Peru’s agricultural minister the production of biofuels will take place in degraded lands to avoid competition with food production. Clearing of forested land for biofuel production will also be prohibited. Earlier the country’s President had blamed rising food prices on the global push to convert cropland to the production of biofuels.

The European Commission has defended its policy to promote biofuels, which has been criticized as a contributing factor to the global food price rise. Experts had urged EC to drop EU biofuel targets to control food prices. Instead, EC called for the promotion of sustainable criteria for biofuels and development of future generations of biofuels in Europe. EU has a target of raising the share of biofuels in the transport sector to 10 percent by 2020.

According to Chinese experts, China has no plan to sacrifice food for fuel. Speaking at the Asia Clean Energy Forum 2008 sponsored by the Asian Development Bank in Manila, Song Yanqin, a co-drafter of China's national energy strategies said that the "food security comes first in China, more important than fuel.” While some countries are setting aside land for bio fuels—a cheap alternative to fossil fuel, it is creating global shortage of grain causing increase in food prices.  In the Philippines' southern region of Mindanao, for instance, rice prices have gone up to $1.14 per kg.  

Biofuels may force poor people into landlessness --

 A Germany based oilseeds analyst Oil World Forecast has claimed that governments worldwide may reduce their targets to increase biofuel use in view of the rising food prices.  Most biofuels are currently consumed in the US and Europe. However biofuel targets are too ambitious; even at this early stage, biofuel use  is leading to severe food shortages and consequent increases in food prices.