According to the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute Director Pat Westhoff, three things are responsible for the entire increase in global consumption of grains and oilseeds over the past four decades; population, biofuels, and China. “Take away those three and there’s no change with global consumption of grains in the last 40 years.” Westhoff said population growth has slowed. Ethanol consumption, at least for the time being, has also leveled off. “With China, who knows where they’re going. This massive growth in Chinese demand the last several years has leveled off now. If they were to pull back on their imports, we’ve got a tough situation.”
