Agrofuels

Feeding and Fuelling Europe

Soy monoculture, Brazil (Photo credit: Giordano Bruno)

New research on soy consumption for feed and fuel in the European Union

The amount of land needed to grow crops to feed livestock and fuel cars in Europe is on the increase. The biggest use of this land is for soy, which is imported to Europe primarily as animal feed but increasingly used to produce agrofuels. Most of this land is in South America where increasing demand is driving the loss of primary forests, significant climate changing emissions, food insecurity and rural conflict.

This research looks at the European 'footprint' of feeds and fuels and analyses the different uses and amounts used in the EU. We believe that if the EU is serious about addressing climate change, global loss of biodiversity, human rights, and dealing with the food crisis it must urgently reduce its dependence on imports of soy and halt the use of crops to produce agrofuels.