Friends of the Earth tell Countries to Stop the Land Grab for BioFuels

Apparently the well known environmental charity Friends of the Earth predicts a lot more food shortages in Africa. This is due to the fact that the European Union has says it wants to produce 10 percent of all transport fuels from biofuels by 2020.

The Friends of the Earth goes on to say that European Union countries have to drop their high biofuel targets. If they do not, then they risk plunging more Africans into hunger and raising carbon emissions. In a campaign that the group just recently launched, the charity accuses European companies of land-grabbing throughout Africa to grow biofuel crops that directly compete with food crops.

Of course, biofuel companies counter this with the fact that they consulted with local governments first. They also said that this investment will bring jobs for these areas. It will also produce fuels for the local market.

The Friends of the Earth went on to add its voice to an NGO lobby that claims that local communities are not properly consulted about these projects. Also, it added that forests are being cleared in a pattern that echoes decades of exploitation of other natural resources in Africa.

The group went on to say, in its report on the matter, that the key to halting the land grab is for the European Union countries to drop their goal to produce 10 percent of all transport fuels from biofuels by 2020. This is a big number that is trying to be accomplished in a small amount of time.

So far a number of European companies have planted biofuel crops, such as sugar cane and palm oil, in Africa. However, the trend has coincided with soaring food prices and has ignited a debate over the dangers of using agricultural land for fuel.