As is becoming quite clear, we have not had overproduction of food in the past. We have had an underproduction in the last couple of years. We presently have inadequate food stocks. While price supports may not be the best way to assure adequate buffer surplus they have not been excessive in terms of performing that function.

Chris

Rapeseed (huile de colza, biodiesel, in fr.) is commonly used in Switzerland and Germany. Links are in french sorry. Ex: newspaper: http://largeur.com/expArt.asp?artID=1617

On the only measure that I have looked up, that is CO2 emissions (gives a very handy overall picture, not the whole story of course) biodiesel (rapeseed, palm oil, soya oil, other biomass, and used vegetable oil, which is collected in CH and parts of France..) does not perform well altogether in comparison with ethanol, methanol, or methane (from grass, potato, beet, corn, sorghum, barley, sugar cane, bio detritus, all from all countries, with cane being from Brazil, corn from the US, etc.)

This can be seen in the second chart in the pdf which is easy to understand from any language; the better performing are few - French and Swiss used vegetable oils (they come as a kind of free lunch, or I suppose, post prandial gift...) and sugar cane from Brazil, no surprise there. Of course that is just eye balling, and much detail cold be dug into.

the study is swiss, from swiss pov, by the fed. energy agency. PDF, ecological evaluation of bio - energy, in french. Note the different rubrics counted; exploitation, transport, infrastructure, etc.