International Investing

Besides stealing from the tax payer and encouraging inefficient technologies, they will raise the price of beer:

…rapid expansion of biofuel production may be welcome news for environmentalists but for the world’s beer drinkers it could be a different story.  Strong demand for biofuel feedstocks such as corn, soyabeans and rapeseed is encouraging farmers to plant these crops instead of grains like barley, driving up prices.  Jean-François van Boxmeer, chief executive of Heineken the Dutch brewer, warned last week that the expansion of the biofuel sector was beginning to cause a “structural shift” in European and US agricultural markets.  One consequence, he said, could be a long-term shift upwards in the price of beer.