Brazil: Lula defends biofuels

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defended the use of biofuels and rejected claims that they were responsible for the rise in global food prices. During a conference of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization in Brasilia, Lula warned that unfair trade policies, not biofuel consumption, are to blame:

Food riots also underlined the need for an agreement in the so-called Doha round of global trade negotiations, Lula said. Rich countries need to reduce farms subsidies and trade barriers to allow poor countries to generate income with food exports, Lula said on Wednesday…

Either the world solves the unfair trade system, or "every time there's unrest like in Haiti, we adopt emergency measures and send a little bit of food to temporarily ease hunger."

If Europe doesn't open its market to farm imports, "someone will have to assume the historic responsibility," Lula warned.

Brazil’s emphasis on increased biofuel usage has gotten its share of critics; for instance, the U.N. special rapporteur for the right to food called biofuels a “crime against humanity.”

Sources- BBC News, Reuters UK, MSNBC

Image- BBC News