Sustainable Biofuels and Human Security

Biofuel production has soared in this decade with backing from government mandates. Seeking to address global warming, promote alternatives to fossil fuels, and increase independence in energy production, many countries have been striving to become key players in the global trade for biofuels as well as increase domestic energy production. Food security and sustainability issues, however, have clouded the future for first generation biofuels. Second-generation production processes, based on cellulosic material and algae, are emerging, but they are not yet commercially viable on a large scale. The papers in this collection address the social and sustainability dimensions of the biofuel debates, including links between biofuels and food price volatility, poverty, and direct and indirect changes in land use. The papers were selected from a series of three workshops held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May and November 2008 and April 2009. The workshops were sponsored by the Women and Gender in Global Perspectives Program (WGGP), the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security (ACDIS), the Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research (CABER), and the Center for African Studies, with support from many units across campus. Generous support was provided by a Hewlett International Conference Grant, the Sloan Foundation's Industry Studies Group, the Energy Biosciences Institute, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) Global Connect Program, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS).published or submitted for publicationnot peer reviewe