The silent (ie: non-liquid) tsunami

We've talked about it here before, and I'm sure we'll talk about it again... In what The Economist is calling "The 'Silent Tsunami', food prices are causing misery and strife around the world."

And one of the leading causes, we're told, of this growing problem is the increased use of food products being used to fuel (relatively useless and surprisingly more expensive) alternative energies. Ah, don't you miss the days when gas was under a dollar and food wasn't used to help make Mrs. Suburb Soccer Mom's gigantic SUV get 7 miles a gallon of what I like to consider MY corn on the cob?
But it's not all about me, despite what I try and make everyone believe. From the above article, "Roughly a billion people live on $1 a day. If, on a conservative estimate, the cost of their food rises 20% (and in some places, it has risen a lot more), 100 [millon] people could be forced back to this level, the common measure of absolute poverty." Yikes. (the economist)

So, taking it a step further, Marketplace is asking, "Are biofuels hurting the planet?" The answer seems obvious, but you may want to listen and form your own opinion. (marketplace)