Biodiesel boom scares seed growers

Seattle Post Intelligencer by Colin McDonald | Feb. 21, 2007 (News Report)

MOUNT VERNON -- With Washington poised to become a national leader in "green" fuel, fields of bright-yellow canola flowers soon may be as common a sight as golden wheat in parts of the Palouse and other farm-rich areas east of the Cascades.

For struggling farmers, burgeoning demand for oil-rich canola could make it a cash crop for the long haul. For the rest of us, it's supposed to be a feel-good embrace of biodiesel, proudly stamped "Made in ... Full Story »

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Silhouette_sml
2.9
 by Lewis Shadoff, Ph.D. - Feb. 21, 2007

This article discusses some the advantages and disadvantages of a farming area converting to an energy crop. It points out the economic and environmental advantages of growing canola oil in Washington state. It points out the possible deleterious effects on farmers who grow seed crops. It does not discuss how a single biodiesel manufacturer is dictating what crop is required to manufacture biodiesel. It does not discuss the possibility of alternative crops which are being used to manufacture biodiesel which would not have the deleterious effects on the local seed growers (e.g. soybeans). As such it appears to be biased by omission.

(7 answers)

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