Nestlé boss warns against promoting biofuels

The chief executive and chairman of the Swiss-based food multinational Nestlé has warned against boosting the production of biofuels.

Peter Brabeck said planned subsidies for biofuels were irresponsible and immoral and would lead to higher prices for food staples, including maize, soya and wheat.

Commodities hedge funds and increasing demand for soil and water could have a disastrous impact on food production, he told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.

His statement comes in the wake of renewed calls by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Switzerland's Jean Ziegler.

He warned that the production of biofuels would trigger a massive hike in food prices and lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in developing countries.