When no one was looking, the “world food crisis” elbowed out “global climate change” as our planet’s Numero Uno calamity.
As if that weren’t bad enough, we now discover that the two are connected; with this attempt to fix the climate by shifting away from fossil fuels to more “eco-friendly” renewable fuels, we have ended up starving people in Africa and Asia.
Seems like we can hardly settle on one cataclysm before another one demands our attention.
Food riots have broken out around the world; grain-producing countries have banned exports to feed their own people; food prices in the U.S. and around the world have gone through the roof. The UN—its usual bold self—created a task force to study the matter.
Read More of Ethanol not a real solution off-site...John Powers says:
There are some subsidies for corn production, but checks in 2007 amounted to about 1/10% of total revenues for corn farmers.
The major gain to farmers from government intervention into the corn market is via skipping the 50 cent per gallon tax on gasoline.
There are some crazy subsidies out there for ethanol production and delivery, including my personal favorite, $60,000 per E85 gas pump installed at Wal-Mart.
JBP
Frank Nofsinger says:
I am against subsidies of all types, especially ethanol. If we must have it, then at least copy what the big boys (such as Brazil) do, utilize processed sugar cane and various grasses, among other things. Burning food in your car is just insane.
Dan Kelley says:
That's it exactly! In South America, the biofuels are made using waste products from harvested crops (stalks, for example), not the grain, itself.
Dan Kelley says:
Bravo!
Government subsidies of grain sold for use in ethanol production must be halted.