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'Feeding the world while preserving earth's livability: the biofuel barrier'
The two fastest-growing global uses of food crops are their conversion into biofuels and their use as livestock feeds. These trends are accelerating the risks of species extinctions, of agriculturally-driven climate change, and of agricultural water and air pollution.
Biofuel production from food crops also directly decreases the availability of food for the world’s 700 million malnourished people, and may cause further harm to the world’s poor by impacting food prices. When both their direct and indirect environmental impacts are considered, most food-based biofuels cause more environmental harm than the petroleum fuels they replace. The solution to global food and environment problems is often thought to require the efficient closure of yield gaps, healthier diets, and input-efficient agriculture. To these must be added a fourth: the rapid elimination of crop-based biofuels.
Date:
22 October 2025, 17:00
Venue:
Oxford Martin School, 34 Broad Street OX1 3BD
Venue Details:
Lecture Theatre (and Online)
Speaker:
Professor David Tilman (University of Minnesota)
Organising department:
Oxford Martin School
Organiser:
Oxford Martin School (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
events@oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk
Part of:
Oxford Martin School Events
Booking required?:
Required
Booking url:
https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/events/biofuel-barrier
Cost:
Free
Audience:
Public
Editors:
Hannah Mitchell,
Chris Green
