USDA Says Ethanol Accounts for Only 3% of Increased Cost of Food
On Monday, USDA officials met with reporters to discuss just how closely biofuels (specifically corn-based ethanol) are linked to the increasing price of food. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer, who has vehemently defended biofuels before, had this to say:
One theory that has been widely discussed in recent weeks is that the nation’s growing demand for biofuels and the crops needed to produce them is the real culprit behind higher food prices, both at home and abroad. Yet the evidence that we have seen. . .does not support this.
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It’s true that higher demand for corn for ethanol and soybeans for biodiesel has led to higher prices for those crops over the past couple of years. But we do not have a one on one relationship between higher prices for those commodities and what consumers are paying for foods at the retail level. There are many factors at work. . .
So just how much is ethanol contributing to global food prices? According to Schafer:
On the international level, the President’s Council of Economic Advisors estimates that only 3 percent of the more than 40 percent increase we have seen in world food prices this year is due to the increased demand on corn for ethanol.
Their reasoning includes things I’ve written about before including oil prices, economic and dietary expansion in India and China, droughts affecting wheat crops, etc.
For more, read the USDA’s biofuel briefing in its entirety or watch the video:
What about the carbon footprint of ethanol production vs.using gasoline?
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=143&art_id=vn20080210085730876C308900
I don’t necessarily trust the USDA either, but their statement is consistent with a series of reports I’ve seen lately. I think it’s important to keep in mind how many factors go into determining the price of food.
And do not forget to factor in that it takes 8 gallons of fresh water to make 1 gallon of Ethanol.
Water is by far our most precious resource.
Check out this US Carbon Footprint data, an interactive United States Carbon Footprint Map, illustrating Greenest States to Cities. This site has all sorts of stats on individual State & City energy consumptions, demographics and much more down to your local US City level…
http://www.eredux.com/states/
The real issue here is the fact that more carbon and energy is expended to produce ethanol than if we used just gasoline. In addition, it really IS more expensive to produce ethanol than use gasoline, even at the high prices, it is just that corn is so heavily subsidized in the US.
What we need to do is eliminate oil and corn subsidies, significantly decrease the $$ spent on defense and instead invest in education, and renewables. Nuclear is only part of the puzzle due to never-ending concerns about how to store waste that will be around for 1 million years.
Using electricity for cars is a great idea that has taken (and according to the US car manufacturers will take a while still) but a fast, simple, short term fix is to boost production of electricity with solar/wind sources and offset the use of fossil fuels for that electricity production. That will cause a reduction in oil consumption and the increased supply will help stabilize the cost of fuels.
What the heck does the USDA know? Its run by a bunch of overpaid, corrupt politicians.
JT
http://www.FireMe.To/udi
Corn and soy are terrible for ethanol production.
500 gals per acre per year using prime farmland.
Industrial Hemp= 2500 gals per year on 5% of unusable farmland = all our transportation needs.
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Review:Alcohol_can_be_a_Gas
Cheers!
Ethanol still doesn’t provide a huge increase in mileage and takes up a lot of space to grow. The fact is that Shell, Chevron, Exxon and BP ALL have ethanol interests which are increasingly expanding. The corn used for ethanol production is not grown by independent farmers and families - all we’re going to see is more corporatization, and we all know how much the oil corps are working for the global best interest. Even a 3% change means more than 50 million people go starving.
Electric is obviously the way to go since we will always use it, and we will always find new ways of gathering it and improving efficiency.
This ethanol push is absolutely ridiculous. I hope private investors have the balls to invest in completely harmless renewable energy and Shell/Chevron/Exxon/BP are the ones left in the dust.
“…only 3 percent of the more than 40 percent increase we have seen in world food prices this year is due to the increased demand on corn for ethanol.”
That’s still a lot for a single commodity to be affecting the entire food supply. What I’d like to know is, how much has the demand on corn for ethanol increased the price of corn?
I was shocked when I bought corn oil the other day for more than double what I paid last year. Corn oil used to be one of the cheapest cooking oils, now it’s the most expensive after olive oil.
You have to read these statistics with a very skeptical eye on the details, because the government is constantly trying to put the best spin on everything they tell you. EVERYTHING.