Ethanol and food supply
Instapundit asks an important question:
WILL ETHANOL LEAD TO FOOD SHORTAGES?
Ethanol is a renewable, homegrown fuel that can help lower U.S. dependence on foreign oil. But as more and more ethanol is made from corn, less and less corn is available for food production, and that’s causing some unforeseen problems.
Corn is a mainstay of American agriculture— it’s an important ingredient in cereals and baked goods, and corn syrup is used to make processed foods like candy, chips and soft drinks. But most importantly, corn is the major source of food for cattle, pigs, turkeys and chickens that are headed for the dinner table.
A recent study conducted by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University (which receives funding from grocery manufacturers and livestock producers) reported that U.S. ethanol production could consume more than half of U.S. corn, wheat and coarse grains by 2012, driving up food prices and causing shortages. The study estimates that booming ethanol production has already raised U.S. food prices by $47 per person annually. In Mexico, protests have already erupted over the high price of corn tortillas, a staple food in the local diet.
Read the whole thing, but it seems clear to me that making ethanol fuel out of foodstuffs is a bad idea. Ethanol from waste biomass is another story.
Of course, the answer is obvious...ethanol is already diverting corn from food production and increasing prices. The idea that these problems were "unforeseen" only highlights what I've said before...the enviro-lefties (and politically connected farmers) pushing ethanol mandates are conveniently short-sighted when it comes to enacting their policy preferences. There are very few policy consequences that would be entirely unforeseen, given a reasonable economic analysis, and this one should have been predictable by even a cursory analysis.
Source: Instapundit.com -