The International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF)  has voiced an urgent concern that the rise in feed and food costs will continue unabated for the foreseeable future in large part due to the diversion of feed and food grains and oilseeds into biofuels, resulting in critical pressure on feed manufacturers worldwide and higher prices for consumers.

“The dramatic drought in the US has highlighted once again the rising prices of feed and food and it is clear that the production of biofuels is in direct competition with food supplies by using land and water that would otherwise be used to grow crops for human or animal consumption”, said Alexandra de Athayde, IFIF Executive Director. Mrs. de Athayde added, “If no virgin food or feed crops were used to produce fuel, we believe prices would come down again. Current policies aimed at subsidizing the production of grains and oilseeds based biofuels harm the consumer and threaten the sustainability of the feed and food chain globally.”

“The global challenge we face is to feed 9 billion people by 2050 and to do so sustainably. IFIF calls upon governments to reconsider subsidizing grains based biofuels in order to ensure we can use all of our feed and food production for human and animal consumption so that we meet current and future demands of 60% more food by 2050.”