|
Researcher(s):
Nicole Godbout Joey Benyair
ENVS course(s): 220 Initiated: November 2017 Completed: December 2017 Go to project site
|
This situated research project examines how increased demand for biofuels has resulted in greater issues of food scarcity and malnutrition in developing nations around the world. As concern for an increasing global climate rises, international agreements set global carbon dioxide mitigation standards. To achieve this goal, many governments have set mandates for the mixing of biofuels into gasoline. Biofuels are a crop based oil that emit less carbon dioxide per ton than does crude oil. At first, biofuels appeared to promise an effective alternative to petrol. Yet, as their demand increased, it became clear that countries producing biofuel crops experienced unintended costs. Such crops include maize, sugarcane, and jatropha, plants typically grown in the tropical regions of Eastern and Central Africa where cheap factors of production are exploited. Deforestation and agricultural land conversion increase in concert with biofuel demand. The conversion of subsistence farming land to biofuel crops reduces the total land available to produce nourishing food for affected populations. Our research is situated in Tanzania, an East African country experiencing issues of food security and malnutrition in conjunction with increasing production of maize for oil.
Framing Question
Are biofuels a viable way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions given their common externalities?
Focus Question
What factors of biofuel production have lead to the reallocation of maize from food to fuel production in Tanzania?