What percentage of the worlds edible calories is being shunted into gas tanks?

Question

What percentage of the worlds edible calories is being shunted into gas tanks?

Answer 1

In light of the current oil market, I think that there is nothing wrong with using alternative fuel sources.  In terms of how much edible calories are being used: none.

What people often forget is that the crops being used for ethanol and other biofuel production is not food that you would eat.  Corn, for example, is not the succulent sweet corn that you get at your local market, but field corn.  Trust me, there is no comparison in taste... unless you are a hog, but hogs tend to even eat their own waste!

Other plants that are being used are switchgrass and the waste from sugarcane after the sap (that is made into sugar) has been extracted.  Again, this is plant material that is not meant for human consumption.

Unfortunately, many people keep saying that plants are being used that could otherwise be eaten.  However, these new alternative fuels are providing opportunities to developing nations where food is an issue.  In many African countries, biofuels are used rather than petroleum because it can be made in the country (without importation) and reduces the cost of food production.  More people can afford to buy food, and those that grow it can do it on a larger scale that just for their own subsistence.

As a person that drives a FlexFuel vehicle (one that uses E-85), I know that I am doing more for this world -- whether it be for pollution, preserving oil for those that can't live without it as they drive their SUVs, or providing the technology to help developing countries -- than if I was using oil.