Maiz vs oil: Latin American mirages

During the last year, the high petrol price has stimulated the production of biofuels from alternative sources (biomass). For effect of the crescent corn demand (used to produce bio ethanol) on the part of the North-American market, the price of this cereal increases, breaking up any record. The main producers, United States, China, Argentine, Mexico, Brazil, and in general the whole Latin American region, go on consequently to increase the production and the extension of agricultural territory. In this scenery, the cultivation of transgenic maize becomes more than a temptation, rising a question: is it ethical to transfer the production of a basic element in the diet of millions of people towards the tanks of our cars? Ecuador represents an emblematic example of this contradiction: in the Amazonian river basin the extraction of oil and in the Western region the crescent maize production, while many people continue to face the challenge against starvation. As we don’t like to talk about problems that seem far from the possibilities of any single person, at least without giving a little hope, we flag some Ecuadorian associations that operate in the field of human rights, rural communities and ecology; maybe someone would be interested in activities of cooperation/volunteering in Equador: Ecuador volunteer, Jatun Sacha, and many others we didn’t contact directly (mainly aiming at supporting rights of the indigenous communities of the Amazonian rainforest).

Corncobs, maize for bioethanol production

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