The problems with biofuels and feeding the world’s growing population

Guest: Timothy Searchinger

Biofuels, such as corn ethanol and soybean diesel, have been heralded as a strategy to combat climate change and increase our energy independence.  But a new report from the World Resources Institute finds that growing crops for fuel does more harm than good to the world food supply and the environment.   Using corn and soybeans for energy contributes to rising food prices and food scarcity. So should we stop investing in biofuels? Are there some kinds of biofuel that might be more effective? Marty talks to the report’s lead author, Princeton University research scholar TIMOTHY SEARCHINGER, about the impact of biofuels and the challenges of feeding world’s growing population.

(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)