Food-Feed-Fuel: A Closed Loop Model for Regional Sustainability.

A significant negative issue relating to biofuels is its negative impact on food prices, which creates a consequential burden on consumers. In the United States, current production of biofuels is sustainable based on government subsidies, incentives, other market dynamics, and not necessarily on regionally available feedstock. The unfortunate burden of higher prices of food can be addressed by adopting non-food crops dedicated to biofuels, or by creating a closed-loop system whereby any food crop used as a feedstock for fuel must meet the criteria of: Food-Feed-Fuel (3F-model). The process must also avoid using food-crop acreages to produce a more profitable bioenergy crops. In the 3F-model, farmers continue to grow the usual food crops; however, the first use of the harvest is food and either by direct or indirect human consumption. Through the waste-stream in the form of fiber, residue and stover, feed and fuel will provide added-value to the region. In this presentation, the use of winter canola as a regional oilseed crop for the food, feed fuel model will be discussed.