Foods vs. fuels: who's paying for the fight, who's winning (and who's swiping the grease from behind the restaurant)

This week the Florida Wildlife Federation and the Environmental Defense Fund kicked off a new campaign called the "Faces of Climate Change in Florida," featuring, among others, algal oil producer PetroAlgae and Green Circle BioEnergy, which makes wood pellets that can be burned instead of coal for electricity. They're being showcased in a series of ads like this:

PetroAlgae contends that "the recent food vs. fuels debate has detracted from  legitimate alternative fuels such as algal oil and cellulosic ethanol, among others, that don't compete with the food supply yet still help in the fight against global warming and energy independence."

And who's behind the big foods-versus-fuels controversy? According to a story in Roll Call (subscription required), it's the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which hired a big public relations firm to pump up the controversy.

"GMA has concluded that rising food prices ... create a window to change perceptions about the benefits of bio-fuels and the mandate," the industry group's request-for-proposals stated. They hoped to "build a groundswell in support of freezing or reversing some provisions of the 2007 Energy Bill and for the elimination/reform of ethanol subsidies and import restrictions."

Still, there's enough demand for biofuels -- thanks to the rising cost of gas -- that thieves are stealing grease from behind restaurants, according to the Christian Science Monitor. The legitimate collectors of grease are quite perturbed, says the Monitor, noting that, "One collector, Griffin Industries Inc., has two detectives working cases in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, Missouri, and against an entire grease gang in northern Arkansas."

--Craig Pittman