Agro-Fuels and Social Movements in Brazil
Local production first
A heated international debate has been triggered by fuels derived from plants. Brazil plays an important role in this discussion. The country is a pioneer in the use of plant-based fuels, and a multi-faceted scene involving NGOs and social movements follows the current developments. The social movements of landless, agricultural workers and small farmers have now intensified their efforts to initiate a dialogue about the conflict-charged future of agro-fuels, reports Thomas Fatheuer from Curitiba.
For some, agro-fuels are a necessary and even positive answer to the diminishing oil supply and to climate change. For others, they are a threat to the food security of the world’s population. The concept of agro-fuels, the social movements’ preferred designation, is certainly more accurate than the somewhat flowery term “bio-fuels”. Plant fuels are not a living phenomenon but a product of agriculture ...
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Posted: 15 November 2007
More on the subject: >>> Climate Change and Human Rights (WDEV Special Report)
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