Environmental sustainability policies in the U.S. and EU have driven investments in biofuel. Yet while such non-petroleum based fuels have been widely lauded for their environmental benefits, their production has been cited as one of the causes of rising food prices. In this panel discussion at the Aspen Institute in Colorado, experts debate how biofuel production is affecting how arable land is used and how food is priced, and cconsier ooptions for arresting pricing inflation.
Robert Berendes is head of business development at Syngenta Global, a world-leading agricultural business committed to sustainable agriculture and crop protection. From 2005 to 2006, he was Syngenta's head of diverse field crops; from 2002 to 2005 he was head of strategy, planning, and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to working for Syngenta, Berendes was a partner of the European chemical practice at McKinsey & Company. He received his PhD in biophysics from the Max-Planck-Institut for Biochemistry at the Technical University of Munich.
Miguel J. Dabdoub is associate professor of organic chemistry and head of the Laboratory for Clean Technologies Development at the University of São Paulo. His research includes the production and use of alternative fuels with an emphasis on biodiesel production and new biodiesel feedstocks. He has published many scientific articles, and has served as a visiting professor at the University of Michigan. Currently, he is responsible for the Biodiesel Brazil Project. He heads a biodiesel test program on vehicles and engines coordinated by the Brazilian government with the participation of companies such as Ford, Volkswagen, Fiat, and others, and he is working with Brazilian, European, and American companies on building biodiesel plants.
T.J. Glauthier is an advisor to Booz Allen Hamilton's global energy sector management consulting practice. Through his affiliation with Booz Allen Hamilton, he has focused on helping companies map out strategies for reducing carbon emissions and energy usage, and he has also advised the U.S. Department of Energy and Congress on the commercialization of new energy technologies. From 1999 to 2001, Glauthier was deputy secretary and COO of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Prior to DOE, he served in the White House as the associate director for natural resources, energy, and science in the Office of Management and Budget.
Vinod Khosla is the president and CEO of Khosla Ventures. In 1986, he became a general partner at Kleiner Perkins, where he took on Intel's monopoly with Nexgen/AMD. In 2004, Khosla started Khosla Ventures in order to create technologies that can have a beneficial effect and economic impact on society. Khosla assists or serves on the boards of a number of technology based companies. He is also a charter member of TIE, a nonprofit global network of entrepreneurs and professionals, and a founding board member for the Indian School of Business.
C. Ford Runge is the distinguished McKnight University professor of applied economics and law at the University of Minnesota, where he also holds appointments in the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and the Department of Forest Resources. He has served on the staff of the House Committee on Agriculture, and as a science and diplomacy fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He continues as subdirector in charge of Commodities and Trade Policy of the Center for International Food and Agricultural Policy at the University of Minnesota.
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