Food vs. Fuel

Defusing the myths of food vs. fuel.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• ethanol
• renewable
• fuels
• food
• vs
• fuel

[sickliberal]

just look up prices of corn, rice, wheat, soy for yourself. 2.9% is bollocks. probably influenced by oil prices(most important), the start of ethanol, growing population and middle classes etc. no one is telling me that fuelling america with biofuels for 25% to 50% very soon will not require people to starve, and not get laughed at. They are already starving in Haiti, the Middle East for instance.

[ilcorn]

2.9% was likely when this was produced. With oil prices driving food higher it is now around 4.5 percent. 1/4% of that is related to increased corn prices according to the White House Chief Economic Adviser.

[cotidianobr]

The value of the petroleum to 130 dollars the gallon nobody criticizes, all accept. The largest problem in the United States is that the ethanol is extracted of a food the corn. In Brazil the ethanol the is produced more than 30 years, the ethanol is made extracted of a vegetable not used as food, the cane of sugar, and nor for that it harmed the production of victuals. Brazil is the only country of the world in that the ethanol production in wide scale gave right.

[ilcorn]

Sugar is a heavily used food item and it provides dietary calories like any other food item. Nor is corn taking from the food supply. Only 8% of the commerical corn crop in the U.S. is used for human consumption and yields continue to go up. Why not ethanol rather than imported oil?

[poetsonghotmail]

Stored grain is at it lowest point in 38 years. Sixty percent of the world's grain is used for food and 20 percent and growing for bio-fuels. Less of the world's grain product is being produced for human consumption and that has helped cause us the see the 30% price jump since 1996.

[ilcorn]

If you factor in all related energy costs from the chemicals and fertilizer used to the actual production of the ethanol itself there is a 60% net energy gain.

[cobybaalman]

Because the corn used in ethanol is field corn not the sweet corn Humans eat, rather the corn that is fed to cattle, chickens, and hogs. However, One major product of an ethanol plant is distiled grain which is used to feed these animals, this distiled grain has a much higher protein content and helps these animals produce their meat that you eat faster.

[theogarver]

Propaganda.

[donze52]

The problem I see it as a past farmer, today I see land idle. Not just idle

but land hogs, buy up land and then put it in CRP and this contract with the tax payers means they get as high as $150 per acre not to grow corps.

As for corn for fuel. it takes the same amount of energy to produce it as it

gives back. Oil is a never ending product, see my

(Max, Nebraska Oil Conspiracy) video on youtube for a different take.

[mikehanoo33]

The real ecological nightmare is industrial agriculture. Switching to organic-style crop rotation will cut energy use on farms by a third or more: no more petroleum-based herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers. Fertilizer needs can be served either by applying the byproducts left over from the alcohol manufacturing process directly to the soil, or by first running the byproducts through animals as feed.

[b1gr1g]

Who knew that corn could be so exciting!!!

[mikehanoo33]

Free energy labeled 'economic terrorism' - The widespread adoption of these new, non-polluting energy and propulsion systems will effectively replace the use of oil, gas, coal, nuclear power, impacting 4.5 trillion dollars a year in world economic activity, replace the current geo-political order with one based on decentralized abundance. (Examiner; March 21, 2009)

[mikehanoo33]

Most corn grown in the USA is for cattle feed .Also, fermenting the corn to alcohol results in more meat than if you fed the corn directly to the cattle. We can actually increase the meat supply by first processing corn into alcohol, which only takes 28% of the starch, leaving all the protein and fat, creating a higher-quality animal feed than the original corn.

[allthetunes]

idiots, you import from other countries to balance your thirst for fuel.

[switchgrassfuel]

I am not a farmer but i have studied ethanol long enough to appreciate its benefits. Peak oil has done more to raise food prices than ethanol, and you don't have to take my word for it, just look up Peak oil and study that topic for a wile. then maybe you won't be so quick to judge ethanol. It is not perfect, but it is a step in the right direction.

[benzlzhang]

very misleading interview!

He is farmer, enthanol means higher corn prices for him of course he is going to say ethanol is good and it wont increase food price.

Increasing corn acrage from 78 -90mil acreas? Sure, but there will be less acerage devoted to soya and wheat, b/c farmers get more growing corn.

Misleading vedio, just an Ad from the enthanol producers and farmers.

[cyalaterthan]

the cost of food going up is due to inflation alone corn Ethonal by products are dry disstillers grains which is a high source of protien fed to cattle put back into the food chain. the corn that you and I eat is sweet corn not reguar corn the argument food for fuel is all propaganda