Brazil Draws Distinction between Sugar- and Corn-Based Ethanol. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development, June 2, 2008. "With its prodigious farm exports and its major industry making ethanol from sugarcane, Brazil is seeking to show that in the food vs. biofuel debate, at least in its case, the two can co-exist. [Brazilian] President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has challenged critics who claim biofuel production is contributing to high food prices and demand, arguing the problem lies instead in poor agricultural and distribution models... Brazil's use of sugarcane for biofuel does not replace food crops, its supporters argue, whereas the U.S. use of corn to make its ethanol does... The World Wildlife Fund did note, however, that sugarcane fields tended to occupy areas once given over to cattle-raising, and even though it rated that factor as insignificant, it did warn that some ancillary effect of displaced ranchers moving into the Amazon, contributing to deforestation, could occur... Eduardo Leao... of the Unica federation covering the sugarcane industry, said ethanol production uses just 1% of Brazil's total arable land... Investment in Brazilian sugarcane processing factories is expected to top $23 billion over the next four years. There are already 22 plants controlled by foreign capital, out of a total 412, and their number is expected to rise to 31 within five years. The ethanol boom has had repercussions for land prices. A hectare of arable land is now fetching an average 4,135 reals, 16% more than a year ago. Amnesty International has also criticized the sugarcane industry for using 'forced labor,' though Unica has dismissed that as 'wrong and out of context.'"
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