A search for lower-carbon motor fuel is pitting food companies against the energy industry over tightening supplies of a humble commodity: vegetable oil.
Fuel refiners including Marathon Petroleum and ExxonMobil are adding “renewable diesel” to their product mix in response to government incentives for cleaner fuels. The raw materials are typically edible oils extracted from plants or animal fat.
The push has alarmed food companies coping with record prices for many edible oils this year. But the energy sector is just whetting its appetite in the vegetable oil market, according to analysts and public announcements from refining companies.