A topic that has been discussed here often (one example) is now being talked to death at the United Nations, per the Associated Press:
The merits of increasing biofuel production in the middle of a crisis over skyrocketing food prices was being hotly debated at a United Nations summit, but the top U.S. delegate said Wednesday that consensus on the issue was possible.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said on the second day of the three-day gathering of world leaders, U.N. food agencies, development banks and business representatives that progress was being made on determining the role of biofuels in food price hikes. …”We talked about the impact biofuel has on food prices, we think it is a factor but certainly not the largest contributing factor.”
The U.S. forced biofuels investment (especially in ethanol, which is corn-based) in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the more idiotically named Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Their impact on food prices is hard to discern:
