A solution to the Food vs. Biofuel debate:

Increasing demand and use of biofuels presents a serious dilemma for food security and population health. While Governments around the world want to reduce their population’s dependence on oil, a limited resource, many prominent individuals, including food security and health experts express their concern that harvests of food crops and agricultural land is going to be used for fuel instead of food. With an increasing global population, land degradation, and the need for alternative energy sources, Government’s and policy makers need to look for better and more sustainable solutions that will provide for the energy needs of populations without impacting on water and food supply.

One simple solution would be to distribute on a very large scale seeds and seedlings of the Moringa tree, scientifically known as the Moringa oleifera. The moringa tree has the well-deserved title as the most useful tree on earth. Much of the Moringa tree is edible and very nutritious, including the seed pods, leaves, flowers, seeds and the roots. The seeds of the Moringa tree yield 38-40% edible oil and after deriving the oil the remaining seed cake can be used to purify contaminated water. The seed cake can also be used as fertilizer. The moringa tree is drought resistant, fast growing, and is most suitable for dry, sandy regions. The tree is ideal for growing in many developing countries where food insecurity and poor health remain serious problems that impact on the local population. As well as the nutritional benefits the Moringa tree provides, Australian company Moringa Pty Ltd. state on their website that “the planting of Moringa Oleifera has the capacity to alter the agricultural landscape by addressing salinity issues, soil composition and erosion thus returning value to degraded wheat land.”

In addition to all these uses, the oil from the Moringa seed can also be used for biofuel.

An article published by Maynard Joseph Delfin states that the North American Biofuels Inc. “(NABI) has already authenticated that [Moringa] has passed the biofuels standards,” and that “earlier, the Philippine government is endorsing jatropha as a source of biofuel. However, Danny Manayaga, President of Secura International Corporation, said Moringa oil is more useful [than] jatropha. What makes malunggay, better known as Moringa, better than the jatropha is that malunggay is 100 percent usable; all parts are biodegradable, unlike jatropha, [which] has a toxic part. Once its oil is extracted, the left-over part becomes a nuclear waste according to the findings.” Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Malunggays-Moringa-Oil-Seen-as-Biofuel-Source&id=1103764

India has appalling malnutrition rates among children. An article by Savita Verma states that according to a Save the Children report, “Two million children below the age of five die every year in India, giving it the dubious distinction of being the country with the highest number of such deaths. The report also says over 400,000 newborns die within 24 hours of birth, again the highest figure in the world. India also has one third of the world’s undernourished children.”

Urge the Indian Government and relevant departments to consider, as a solution to the country’s increasing need for both food and fuel; distributing, growing and harvesting on a wide scale the seeds of the Moringa tree. The seeds can then be used as biofuel, and the leaves can be used as supplementary nutrition for many of the nations undernourished children and mothers.