Canada thinks it has the answer to the questions raised about biofuel production, namely does it do more harm to the environment than good. Gerry Ritz, Canada's agriculture minister says the key to making biofuels effective in combating the effects of global warming is to build more, smaller ethanol plants, thus eliminating the worry that the process of producing biofuels requires more energy than it conserves.

"Smaller and locally owned I think are the right way to go," Ritz said as he kicked off debate in the House of Commons on the final stage of a bill that would ensure that gasoline contains 5 percent ethanol by 2010.

The energy expended by transportation of the corn and plant material required to make ethanol is one of the main contentious points of ethanol production because they usually have to travel a long distance to get to their destination. One Canadian politician pointed out that using corn grown in Canada rather than importing it from the U.S., would help alleviate this concern and would lead to a 21 per cent net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional gasoline.

The use of biofuels has come under fire due to the concerns regarding the legitimacy of claims it reduces greenhouse gas emissions and because some blame it for the global food crisis. Ritz contends this point and says Canada can produce enough corn to be used for food and fuel purposes.

"Due to the innovation and industriousness of Canadian agriculture and Canadian forestry, we have the capacity to do this and in no way affect our food lines," he said. "A lot of people say we cannot do both. They say we cannot grow food for energy and for consumption. Nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone who has analyzed food production in this country knows that we are growing more, that it is better quality, and that it is safer."

» Reuters Environment