Bio-economy versus

there is now a proposal to develop a ‘post-fossil fuel ’ bio-economy, championed by the European Union, the U.S. and Brazil in particular. This bio-economy approach is heavily based on the use of biomass, both as a fuel and as a raw material from which to manufacture a wide range of products, including plastics and chemicals. This will be made possible courtesy of a range of technologies including genetic manipulation, nanotechnology and synthetic biology,. While the idea of using renewable resources instead of fossil fuels is a good idea in theory, the way in which the bio-economy approach proposes to achieve this goal is at best deeply flawed and inequitable, and at worst downright dangerous. The planet’s capacity to produce biomass is limited, and increasing demand for land is already leading to the destruction of forests and biodiversity, escalating hunger, and conflict over land. Without reducing consumption and demand for energy and products, the sheer scale on whic