In December 2007, the Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007 amended the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to require 36 billion gallon per year of renewable fuel use by 2022, of which 21 bgy (~60%) must be advanced biofuels.

Advanced biofuels are in essence renewable fuels that are at least 50% better than petroleum with regard to full lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Cellulosic ethanol is the most commonly known advanced biofuel. Advanced biofuels are relevant to the "food versus fuel" issue for several reasons.

First, the PR campaign against traditional biofuels like corn ethanol destabilizes the advanced biofuels industry, which relies on the political, economic and infrastructure opportunities afforded by conventional biofuels. Without conventional biofuel, there would be far less capital and much more risk in the advanced biofuel marketplace.

Second, unlike rolling back the RFS, advanced biofuels are a potential solution to the challenges of increasing food prices. Advanced biofuels have the potential to moderate gas prices and add supply to the marketplace with a smaller ecological and land use footprint, thereby mitigating the effects of scarce oil supplies.

As discussed in Congressional testimony by the National Resources Defense Council:

Biomass feedstocks produced with environmental safeguards, processed efficiently and used in efficient vehicles can reduce our dependence on oil for transportation, reduce emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, contribute significantly to a vibrant farm economy, and avoid impacting food prices.

The best way to get to advanced biofuels is to continue our current national commitment to promoting increasingly more efficient biofuels. Because we are already utilizing 9 bgy of corn ethanol, 21 of the remaining 27 bgy of the RFS (almost 80%) must be advanced biofuel.

The fastest way to undercut the advanced biofuel industry, on the other hand, is to open the RFS (or even advocate for opening the RFS), which will inject even more doubt and risk into the advanced biofuels marketplace.