Part I of Q & A With UNICA's Joel Velasco: "UNICA's Mission and the Fiery Biofuel Industry"

In the first part of my three-part interview with the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association's (UNICA) chief U.S. representative Joel Velasco, we talk about his background, UNICA's mission, and why the biofuel industry is a fiery sector.

ROBERT GLUCK:  Please tell our readers about your background and how you came to be the chief U.S. representative of UNICA.

JOEL VELASCO:  I am American born, but I was raised in Brazil. I came back to the U.S. for high school and, for the last fifteen years or so, have made Washington, DC my home.

My first experience with ethanol began when I was a child growing up in Brazil. As I described on my first blog at SweeterAlternative.com, I can’t say it was love at the first, err, taste. But, a couple years ago, I got a call from a colleague in Brazil asking if I wanted to “work harder, make less money, but help get the U.S. off fossil fuels.”

Well, at least the challenge was tantalizing. With sugarcane ethanol, I’ve learned over the last two years, we can really help move the dial in the direction of getting off of oil. You see, sugarcane ethanol is a clean and affordable renewable fuel that can reduce our dependency on oil from the Middle East.

RG:  What is UNICA and what is its mission?

JV:  UNICA, which stands for Sugarcane Industry Association in Portuguese, is the leading trade association for the sugarcane industry in Brazil, representing nearly two-thirds of all sugarcane production and processing in the country.

We serve as a source for credible information and analysis about the efficiency and sustainability of sugarcane products, particularly biofuels such as sugarcane ethanol. We are working to educate Americans so they can make informed choices about their renewable energy options.

Sugarcane ethanol holds the potential to be a key building block of America’s secure energy future because of its proven environmental benefits and potential savings at the pump – benefits that Brazil has been enjoying for the past 30 years.

RG:  The biofuel industry is a very fiery sector -- there is a lot of debate around it, especially corn-based ethanol which, as you know, has a huge lobby base in the U.S.  Why so much fire and so much debate?

JV:  I’d like to think it’s because ethanol has a much higher octane than gasoline. However, that probably doesn’t explain all the sparks in the policy debate here in Washington.

I think there are some groups – beyond just the corn ethanol industry – that have sought to limit the choices Americans can have at the pump for their own benefit. Maybe it’s because their multi-billion dollar incentives are at stake, but I really think it has to do with something deeper: a misplaced fear of competition. 

As an American kid growing up in Brazil, I always knew that what made America great was that the spirit of free enterprise and consumer choice would drive this country to excellence, no matter the circumstances. But it appears that some are just determined to keep the healthy competition that makes America great off limits.

Consumers win when businesses have to compete in an open market, because competition produces higher quality products at lower costs. We’re not asking for a handout but a chance to compete on level ground. What’s wrong with that?

You can read the other segments of my interview with Joel Velasco here:

• Part II of Interview With UNICA's Joel Velasco: Corn vs. Sugarcane Ethanol 

Learn more about Alternative Fuels on eBoom's Biofuels Learning Page.