While the story seems to have taken a backseat to petrochemical prices in recent weeks, the UN summit to address high food prices in Rome last week certainly featured a fair amount of action.

Major biofuel producers Brazil and the United States vehemently defended their food-based fuel industries, with US Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer insisting that biofuels accounted for only 2-3% of world food demand.

And Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has long been a defender of his nation’s efforts to extract biofuel from sugar cane, stating that fuel plantations use only 1% of his nation’s arable land.

However, surprisingly little attention was paid to the patent inefficiency of raising crops specifically for food, especially in terms of carbon reduction. While the US and Brazil clashed on whose subsidies were artificially depressing prices more, almost no one mentioned truly sustainable alternatives.