98 percent of cassava chips exported from Thailand went to China to make biofuel, allowing China to claim to be the world leader in green energy. 

The problem: Thai exports of cassava chips have increased nearly fourfold since 2008, and the price of cassava has roughly doubled, which means the starchy root which has long been a staple of the diet for rich and poor is increasingly out of reach for those with lower incomes.  China was wise enough to stop using its own corn for biofuel due to the spike in cost that resulted.

Each year, an ever larger portion of the world’s crops, like cassava and corn, sugar and palm oil, is diverted for biofuels as developed countries pass laws mandating greater use of nonfossil fuels.