Speaking at this week's United Nations food summit in Rome, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that the attempts to link the rise in global food prices to the increased production of ethanol are a 'smokescreen' created by major producers of non-renewable energy. 'It offends me to see fingers pointed at clean energy from biofuels – fingers dirty with oil and coal,' he added.

President Lula attributed the rise in food prices to a combination of factors, including soaring oil prices (which affect the cost of fertilizers and freight), climate change, falling world food stocks, speculation in financial markets, and growing food consumption in developing countries – but stressed that the main cause is 'the maintenance of absurdly protectionist farm policies in rich countries'. He expressed his dismay that 'those who blame ethanol – including sugarcane ethanol – for the high price of food are the same ones who for decades have maintained protectionist policies to the detriment of farmers in poor countries and of consumers throughout the world'.

Quoting the United States Department of Agriculture's 2007 report on ethanol production in Brazil, the President explained that the country's production of sugarcane ethanol takes up a mere 1% of its total arable land, and does not impinge on food production.

As for the accusation that sugarcane plantations are invading the Amazon, the President dismissed them as 'foolish', pointing out that 99.7% of Brazil's total area of sugarcane plantations lie outside the northern region, at least 2,000km away from the rainforest.

He also emphasized the environmental benefits of biofuels, for example the fact that a car that runs on petrol emits eight and a half times more carbon dioxide than one that runs on ethanol.

He concluded his address by reiterating that the solution to the problems caused by the rise in food prices is to 'increase food supply, open markets and eliminate subsidies, in order to respond to the growth in demand'. Achieving this, however, will require 'a radical change in the ways we think and act'.

Source: Agência Brasil and Embassy of Brazil in London