Put A Chicken/Pig/Cow In Your Tank

While we're on the subject of liquid alternative fuels, at the Reuters Food Summit in Chicago yesterday, Tyson Foods Inc. chief Richard Bond said his company is developing fat-based fuels for use in jet engines or diesel engines.

According to the Reuters report, "The largest U.S. meat company, which produces 2.3 billion pounds of fat a year as a byproduct of its operations, could potentially start production of the fuel by the end of the year, Bond said."

The notion of pouring fuel derived from the fat of  dead animals into our tanks may be be slightly less enticing than that of using the lightly citrus-scented ( !) fuel blogged about yesterday here...But hey, it's all renewable and that's great.

p.s. An expert I spoke with recently said that if all the money poured into Iraq had been put into developing alternatives fuels, the foreign-oil dependency problem would be solved by now.

(As for the Reuters Food Summit that ran from March 5-8,  even after viewing the company video purporting to answer the question "What Are Summits? " we are not exactly sure...)

Comments

[KathyF]

I've heard some news of this, and I think the idea stinks, no pun intended.

How are vegans, who avoid all animal products, to avoid fuel that's made from animal fat, which only occurs because of our profligate use of animals as food? I wouldn't use it, but how would I know? What if it was in the plane I was a passenger on? Or my bus?

[foodie]

Yes, indeed--a new concern for both vegetarians and vegans alike. Maybe I will email Bond, Richard Bond, and see what he says...