German Biofuels Incentives Drive Up the Price of Beer
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 05.30.07
We've noted on a number of occasions that the recent worldwide biofuels push could have a range of unintended consequences, from higher food prices to greater deforestation. In Germany, recent subsidies for biofuel crops have had an effect of the price of a dietary staple: beer. According to the Associated Press, many German farmers are now growing crops like rapeseed and corn rather than barley, and that shift is being felt at the tap:
In the last two years, the price of barley has doubled to euro200 (US$271) from euro102 per ton as farmers plant more crops such as rapeseed and corn that can be turned into ethanol or bio-diesel, a fuel made from vegetable oil.As a result, the price for the key ingredient in beer -- barley malt, or barley that has been allowed to germinate -- has soared by more than 40 percent, to around euro385 (US$522) per ton from around euro270 a ton two years ago, according to the Bavarian Brewers' Association.
For Germany's beer drinkers that is scary news: their beloved beverage -- often dubbed 'liquid bread' because it is a basic ingredient of many Germans' daily diet -- is getting more expensive. While some breweries have already raised prices, many others will follow later this year, brewers say.
The AP also notes that last year's barley harvest was smaller than usual, so German beer drinkers are getting hit with a double whammy.
While it's tempting to write this off as a minor inconvenience, rising barley prices are also threatening the livelihood of many smaller German brewers: "The financial pressure on Germany's small and medium-sized breweries is immense," brewers association head Walter Koenig said. "The increasing costs of raw materials may become a serious threat for many breweries."
We've already seen protests over higher tortilla prices in Mexico; could mass action over beer prices in Germany be next? In each case, an item central to the culture's diet is threatened by the economics of biofuels. ::ENN
Image source: BBC/AP
This is not happening... This is NOT HAPPENING!
Thanks, biofuel. Save the planet or get drunk on Friday. I know where I’ll be. And it ain’t the local biofuel reserch lab. Sorry, Earth, but I think it's time we went our separate ways.
You want me to stop using arosol; I stop. You say, please recycle; I recycle everything AND compost. Would you be a dear and eat organic vegitables? Yes, ma'am. Heck, I'll even get energy efficient appliances throughout my house and save water and use bio-degradeable garbage bags and EVERYTHING...
but THIS... This is too much. I'm sorry, Earth, but there's only so much I can give up for your happiness. Besides, I hear oxygen deprivation is a great way to go out.
I think its great that smaller-scale farming may now actually be profitable, if demand is really that great. Really - this has to be a short-term blip in prices for certain commodities. Many will hear about the great new price for barley and start planting for next year. Things will level out over time.
Farmers must be very happy with the way things are going for a change, they have new customers and more opportunities than ever before. Maybe they will even make a decent living now!
I don't mean to be facetious or anything, but are you saying Chekov from Star Trek is Germany's #1 beer lobbyist?
_______________________________________________
Writer's note: I guess he's not in demand much in Hollywood anymore :-) But, that is the name given.. I'm sure it's a coincidence...
The unintended consequences of biofuels may only be starting to be felt. Farmers are reallocating the amounts of land they have as trade offs between food and fuel crop production. The combination of using less land area for food with adverse consequences of global warming may have the effect of spiking future food prices.
We might joke about beer becoming expensive but it may be more than just an "ouch" when it is time to pay the grocery bill.
adrianakau2aol.com
Crap. I buy beer to deal with the rising prices of GAS!
How do we get out of this vicious cycle?!?
For sure it is scarly news, Germany is famous for its beer, and if the prices will grow it can lead to the decline of german market.
BioFuels are a BioWaste. In the end we use more fossile fuels to produce BioFuel. Fuel used to Clear the Land, seed the fields, cut the crop, take the crop to market, process the fuel, and then TANKER Truck it all over the world. No pipelines for BioFuels they cannot survive. In addition to the negative impact of the Fuel to produce BioFuel we are also stripping away all of our natural rescouces, wetlands, forests, and etc to grow the grain.
We the people need to stand up to our politicians before Beer is 10 Euros a Glass, a loaf of bread is 20 Euros, and etc.
Oil may not be desired, however, it has a better environmental footprint than biofuels for bio-fools.