Of all the insanities committed in the name of green politics, one of the most insane is the production of biofuels from food crops. In pursuit of increased proportion of energy from renewable sources, governments have realized that wind and solar power cannot make sufficiently large contributions. They have therefore turned to biofuels, a move that hugely delights their farming lobbies. Now Robin Pagnamenta reports in the Times that “Britain’s self-sufficiency in wheat will end next year because a giant new biofuel refinery needs so much of the staple crop that home-grown supplies will be exhausted.”  Yes, we are now buying wheat on world markets to turn into fuel that is more expensive than that we can buy elsewhere or pump out of North Sea wells.  That puts upward pressure on world prices, forcing up the price of foodstuffs.  To affluent people this will be an inconvenience; to the poor it might mean starvation. We have, in effect, reintroduced the Corn Laws which were abolished in 1846, ensuring that the poor have to pay more for their bread as landowners and farmers benefit from higher prices.  Well-to-do ladies driving their children to school in 4x4s can feel good that they are driving on ‘green’ fuel, even as people in poorer countries go hungry.