Panel 1: Food as Fuel? 9:55-11:10AM Alternative energy is growing in importance for environmental and economic reasons. As states seek to achieve the mandates of their renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and low carbon fuel standards (LCFS), biofuel production has increased significantly. Arguably there are both social and environmental costs that accompany the growth of the biofuel industry. On one hand, there are concerns that leaps in biofuel production are resulting in land use changes, converting wetlands and forest to farmland, and driving up the cost of food and feed. On the other hand, biofuels have the potential to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels and, to some extent, provide a domestic energy supply. This panel seeks to explore these issues. Timothy O’Connor, Attorney & Director of California Climate for Environmental Defense Fund Zachary Marker, Legal Fellow, Center for Food Safety Samantha Arens, Staff Attorney, California Energy Commission Colin Carter, Director, Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics, UC Davis Michael Murza (MODERATING), Environmental Law Fellow, California Environmental Law & Policy Center