Shortage of cooking oil looms as biofuels gain global appeal
BNN Bloomberg
A global biofuel boom is set to drive a shortage of vegetable oils — used for cooking and now increasingly to power trucks and planes — intensifying a debate over food versus fuel.
From the U.S. to Brazil and Indonesia, governments are embracing energy made from plants like soybeans or canola, or even animal fat, to move away from fossil fuels and cut emissions. This has created opportunities for vegetable oils, especially palm oil, an ubiquitous but controversial ingredient found in products like pizza dough, instant noodles, chocolate and shampoo.
Demand is so hot that producers are hunting for used cooking oil and sludge, a waste product from processing palm oil, as feedstocks for biofuels.
These lofty ambitions may face challenges. War and extreme weather are limiting vegetable oil supplies. A severe drought has devastated production in Argentina, the top exporter of soybean oil. In Europe, restrictions on using bee-toxic pesticides will curb planting of rapeseed that relies on the pollinators, while Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine will slash sunflower oil exports.
