Ethanol Subsidies Starve the Poor

A global food crisis has resulted in skyrocketing food prices, riots, and starvation in many poor countries like Afghanistan, Haiti, Egypt, and Ethiopia.  “A confidential World Bank report . . . concludes that biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75%,” as farmers produce ethanol instead of food.  We described earlier how ethanol subsidies and mandates are causing environmental devastation, violence and political turmoil, and increased support for Islamic extremism.  In Afghanistan, the Taliban forces that supported Osama Bin Laden are making a political comeback, killing more Americans recently than Iraqi insurgents.