The UN has appointed a special rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, who has sharply criticised the direct and indirect effects of biofuels on the poor.
For De Schutter, the fact that food is often produced thousands of miles away from where most people live represents an irrational system, both from an ecologic and economic perspective.
"This is why these type of projects are much more than feel-good gimmicks, they are absolutely vital as part of a diverse array of sustainable agriculture systems that we must pursue further, " says Olivier de Schutter, the U.N.