Bangla Food Security in Danger

Bangladesh plans to begin turning some of the grain it produces into ethanol to make its fuel greener–but economists and experts warn the move could hurt food security in a country that is already a grain importer, Reuters reported. Energy ministry officials said in a gazette notification early this year that the country will begin using maize, broken rice grains and molasses to produce ethanol to mix with petrol fuel at a 5% ratio. But in a heavily populated country that produces relatively little in the way of climate-changing emissions and that already relies on imports of maize and other grains, the result could be rising food prices, especially for the poor, economists, business leaders and environmental experts warned.