Food safety and its relationship with the expansion of the biofuels program

Abstract

Brazil is considered one of the largest food producers in the world, as a result of its large territory, and the development of research for technological innovation in agriculture. However, the advance of monoculture of sugarcane has been intensified due to the relevance that the production of biofuels has been gaining in Brazilian market; therefore, a concern about the use of land arises, more specifically about replacing the production of food for production of bioenergy. Thus, the purpose of this article is to examine whether food production has been substituted by the production of bioenergy, and to check if there have been changes in land structure in the municipalities of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The methodology used to meet this objective was shift-share. The study pointed out that, although there have been expansion of cultivation of sugarcane in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, it is relatively small when compared to other crops, and thus cannot be regarded as one of the main reasons for the substitution effect of food products.