Earth Grab: The Rush to Make Agriculture the New Fuel for the Global Economy

marketwire.com
Nov 22, 2010 16:45 ET

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 22, 2010) - Whether we're talking about global energy, climate change, food security or commodity trade -- agriculture has quickly taken centre stage in the new global economy. It's an economy worth trillions -- and it all starts with plants.

The world's biggest corporations are rushing to grab and convert living plant matter – called "biomass" --- into fuel, chemicals, and other profitable products. Corn and sugarcane are already being converted to biofuels on a large scale, but trees, grasslands and algae could be next. The fossil fuel economy is transforming rapidly into a 'bio-economy', says Jim Thomas of ETC Group, an international research institute based in Ottawa. "Plants, trees and forests are the new oil fields. They're above the ground, and they're easy to grab", says Thomas.

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