Eighth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Brazil has a high competitiveness in the production of biofuels, especially ethanol from sugarcane. In the last 15 years, the center-south region of the country faced a strong process of expansion of this culture. Several issues related to the sustainability of biofuel production have been discussed in the literature. The discussions focus on the perception of impacts on food production and food security, environmental impact and land use change and social effects in the rural areas. This work aims at analyzing the effects of sugarcane expansion in relation to land use change and the diversity of food production in the state of São Paulo, the country’s largest producing region. The analysis takes place at the regional level (state of São Paulo) and local (municipalities) under an exploratory and quantitative approach. As methodological instruments Shift-Share method and the Geographic Information System are used. Although at the macro-regional level the effects of monoculture expansion of biofuels are minimized, at the micro-regional level loss of diversity is identified with risks to production capacity of local communities, rising land prices and the distribution of agricultural income.