The impacts of the food-feed-fuel competition on Brazilian food supply

Abstract

The impact of the so-called "food-feed-fuel competition" on hunger has been a major concern worldwide. In addition, the environmental impacts caused by increases in the production of meat made supplying food even more challenging. As few studies have dealt with this issue in Brazil, this paper aims to evaluate the country's nutritional situation since 1995, focusing on the effects of producing animal feed and biofuels on both the domestic availability of food and the role of Brazil as a food supplier to foreign countries. We estimate the quantity of nutrients produced in the country, compare them with the necessities of Brazilians and estimate the population that could be fed by means of Brazilian exports. The results indicate that despite the food-feed-fuel competition, the supply of food has increased and has been sufficient to nourish all Brazilians plus an even larger number of foreigners. As food availability is adequate, the large number of Brazilians still exposed to undernourishment reflects the limited access to food by low-income consumers. We also conclude that Brazil could contribute even more to feed foreigners if policies were implemented aiming to induce farmers to produce a different sort of products.

What is feed-food competition?

“…Despite a sufficient supply, many Brazilians are still unable to afford enough nutritious food, showing that the quantity of food supply alone does not determine whether people are food secure. The paper does not estimate whether food prices would be lower -and thus whether nutritious diets would be more affordable -if neither animal foods nor biofuels were produced 45 .…”

Índice Fuzzy de Vulnerabilidade Hídrica

“…Deste modo, a demanda por suprimentos seria maior do que a oferta do mesmo. Esse tipo de conceito, contudo, foi questionado de diversas formas ao longo da história (AGUIAR; COSTA, 2017;BELIK;CUNHA, 2015;RICKLEFS, 2003), demonstrando que o problema da fome no mundo não seria uma questão de produtividade, mas de um problema de gerenciamento dos recursos alimentícios, como problemas de supply chain (mal armazenamento ou perdas durante processos logísticos), preços acima do poder de compra das populações carentes, entre outros.…”