Biofuel could mean more food for the world’s poor, according to a leading researcher from Manitoba.
Curtis Rempel, research development manager at the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals at the University of Manitoba, said that instead of diverting much-needed grain from starving people in poor countries, the biofuel boom in affluent Western nations may actually boost the available supply of food and lead to breakthroughs that ensure greater access to nutritious food.
He told the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council’s annual meeting in Brandon last week that fuel may win the food versus fuel debate now raging among academics once the real potential of a photosynthesis-based energy system becomes clear. The equation may no longer be seen as a simple trade off, he added.
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“Based on what I know, and what I think could happen, the world could be at a place where we can actually have our cake and eat it, too,” Rempel said.
“Some of the products that are coming off the biodiesel and biofermentation process may actually be better for you, and the peptides and bioactives that come off the waste stream for fuel and polymers are a perfect basis for nutraceuticals and functional food ingredients. It’s a win-win situation.”
The work is in its infancy, he added, but the indicators are there.
“The actual fermented product may be better for you than the raw cereal grain.”
He said the latest clues can be found in the growing number of heart health related patents that have been filed lately as the result of observations made by veterinarians and animal nutritionists working in feedlots where dried distillers grain was fed to cattle.
“They asked themselves: ‘Why is our typical feedlot mortality of ‘x percent’ dramatically reduced? What is happening?’ That started the whole ball rolling because they began realizing that there must be something going on,” he said.
“Is it the pro-biotic component? You have a whole flurry of bacteria swirling around in that slop. What exactly is giving us the mechanism?”
Studies underway at the Richardson Centre include trials using plant sterols for managing cholesterol, inflammation and pre-cancerous conditions. However, while studies done on pre-clinical animal models have shown promise, he said, human trials are the next step to see if the substances can reduce cholesterol or diabetes.
“We’re now looking for funding to do work on dried distillers grains,” said Rempel. “If they are reducing mortality of animals in feedlots, the fermented product has to be better than the whole grain.
“That’s why I think you can have your cake and eat it, too. You can get the fuel stream for your car motor, and the DDG, which instead of just being a cheap source of plant protein – and the world is going to be awash in it – actually has a benefit.”
Despite rising feed grain costs, he added, cattle and hog producers need not fret over the future because the dried distillers grain will not only be cheaper but better for the health of their animals.
However, he said Canadian politicians need to show that they have vision and do more to help the industry get underway before the country falls behind.
“The danger, though, is if the United States embraces the bio-economy in a big way, but Canada doesn’t because of public policy, that could mean that we won’t get access to the DDG and the animal industry would still have to compete with the ethanol plants. You do the math. That’s a real tough proposition.”
