By Catherine Wolf, KWMU
St. Louis, MO –
Kenya's ambassador to the United Nations told a Washington University audience Tuesday using crops like corn and soybeans for fuel shouldn't be a priority when people worldwide are starving.
Zachary Muburi-Muita and nine other UN ambassadors spoke about global food security as part of a "UN Across America" tour. Muburi-Muita says he realizes ethanol is a big business in Missouri, but corn should be used as a food source first.
"I know it is a sensitive issue here, and because we are a food deficient society we think the priorities really should be on feeding the populations. That really there should be other means of creating clean energy whether from wind or solar."
Ambassadors say conflicts over land and climate change are also affecting the global food supply.