Fuelling the biofuels debate

According to reports in a variety of news outlets over the weekend Nestle, in the form of its CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, said that planned subsidies for biofuels were irresponsible and immoral and would lead to higher prices for food staples, including maize, soya and wheat (Swiss Info, Nestlé boss warns against promoting biofuels).

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s always good to see large multi nationals taking the leadership role and setting an example for others to follow. However, I might be more impressed if this didn’t seem to be more about Nestle’s profits than an ethical stance on subsidised biofuels. Brabeck-Letmathe was certainly being disingenuous when he linked the subsidies for biofuels as the only reason for higher prices for agricultural products. Previous peaks in wheat prices in 1981, 83 and 95, all of which exceeded today’s price (USDA figures), were not due to biofuels, and did not create a food crisis.

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