The starchy cassava root has long been an important ingredient in everything from tapioca pudding and ice cream to paper and animal feed.
But last year, 98 percent of cassava chips exported from Thailand, the world’s largest cassava exporter, went to just one place and almost all for one purpose: to China to make biofuel. Driven by new demand, Thai exports of cassava chips have increased nearly fourfold since 2008, and the price of cassava has roughly doubled.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/science/earth/07cassava.html?ref=global-home
Adorngeo's Blog 
As long as our world values fuel more than food you can expect this to continue. The cheap food and cheap fuel era is coming to an end. The only way to keep food production on the table and out of the tank is to make it more valuable.