The water-land-food nexus of first-generation biofuels

• DOI: 10.1038/srep22521
• Publication Date: 2016-03-03T10:19:04Z
• Authors: Maria Cristina Rulli; Davide Bellomi; Andrea Cazzoli; Giulia De Carolis; Paolo D’Odorico
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; Agricultural; Multidisciplinary; Life on Land; 0211 other engineering and technologies; Veterinary and Food Sciences; 02 engineering and technology; Biological Sciences; 15. Life on land; 7. Clean energy; Article; 6. Clean water; Industrial Biotechnology; 12. Responsible consumption; 13. Climate action; 11. Sustainability; Zero Hunger

AbstractRecent energy security strategies, investment opportunities and energy policies have led to an escalation in biofuel consumption at the expenses of food crops and pastureland. To evaluate the important impacts of biofuels on food security, the food-energy nexus needs to be investigated in the context of its linkages with the overall human appropriation of land and water resources. Here we provide a global assessment of biofuel crop production, reconstruct global patterns of biofuel crop/oil trade and determine the associated displacement of water and land use. We find that bioethanol is mostly produced with domestic crops while 36% of biodiesel consumption relies on international trade, mainly from Southeast Asia. Altogether, biofuels rely on about 2-3% of the global water and land used for agriculture, which could feed about 30% of the malnourished population. We evaluate the food-energy tradeoff and the impact an increased reliance on biofuel would have on the number of people the planet can feed.