Biofuels are a ‘crime against humanity’
The UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, said he feared biofuels would bring more hunger.
The growth in the production of biofuels has helped to push the price of some crops to record levels.
Mr. Ziegler's remarks, made at the UN headquarters in New York, are clearly designed to grab attention.
He complained of an ill-conceived dash to convert foodstuffs such as maize and sugar into fuel, which created a recipe for disaster.
It was, he said, a crime against humanity to divert arable land to the production of crops which are then burned for fuel.
He called for a five-year ban on the practice.
Mr. Ziegler is not alone in warning of the problem.
The IMF last week voiced concern that the increasing global reliance on grain as a source of fuel could have serious implications for the world's poor. More at BBC News