Biotech execs say biofuels no threat to food supply

By Mark Weinraub

CHICAGO (Reuters) - New technologies can boost production of environment-friendly biofuels without threatening the world's food supplies, industry leaders said at a trade conference on Monday.

The biofuels industry has been demonized by higher food prices, the biotech industry executives said in interviews on the sidelines of the fifth annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing.

"You have to look at what all the factors are that go into rising food prices," said Steve Fabijanski, president and chief executive of Agrisoma Biosciences Inc, a Canadian company that engineers oilseeds with oil content that is tailored for biodiesel manufacturers.

Commodity costs are only one component of higher prices at the grocery store. Other factors, such as soaring crude oil prices and fertilizer costs that cut into farmers' profits, also contribute.

Additionally, growing worldwide demand for meat could cause some food shortages if higher percentages of corn, wheat and soy are used to feed livestock.

Agrisoma's crops, which are specifically tailored for biodiesel refiners, also produce an oil byproduct that can be used as animal feed, Fabijanski said.

GROWING BACKLASH

There has been growing criticism against government mandates on the use of corn to make ethanol because of the resultant rise in food prices.