CORN NOT THE CULPRIT IN CLIMBING COSTS

I'm getting tired of unfounded attacks blaming ethanol derived from corn for driving up the price of everything from eggs to bread. The real culprit behind drastic increases in the price of food, and just about everything else, is the outrageously high cost of oil.

How Much Corn Is In A Box Of Corn Flakes?
About 8 percent of the weight in a box of corn flakes is corn which amounts to about 4 cents. The National Corn Growers Association says less than 5 percent of the purchase price reflects the price of corn. The remainder of the cost is in advertising, packaging and transportation.

Corn prices have contributed only slightly to the rising cost of food. The primary reason food costs are going up is expensive oil. The National Corn Growers Association points out that a $1 per gallon increase in the price of gas has triple the impact on food prices as does a $1 per bushel increase in the price of corn.

Nearly Everything In Agriculture Involves Oil
Farmers are paying 3 and a half dollars a gallon for gasoline for their pickups, which is about 60 cents a gallon more than last year. They're paying more than 4 dollars a gallon for diesel, which is $1.35 more than last year, to run their tractors, combines, and irrigation systems. Then there’s the rapidly escalating cost of fertilizer which is a petroleum by product, that often comes in containers made of oil based plastic.

When the raw product leaves the farm for processing, and is later shipped to the supermarket, it travels on semi trucks that are spending as much as $800 a tank for diesel fuel. That's nearly $300 more than last year.

Energy Independence Is Needed
Ethanol production is just one part of the long road to better energy security that will help America begin to take control of its energy needs and reduce our reliance on expensive foreign oil – and corn based ethanol is only the first step. Eventually, we will not rely as heavily on corn when research pays off to make large scale cellulosic ethanol production from switch grass and field waste.

Those who think that corn being diverted for ethanol is to blame for international food shortages also fail to take into account that the U.S. corn exports are increasing, up six percent last year.

Ethanol Helps Keep Oil Prices From Going Higher
Not only do ethanol critics fail to recognize that it's oil, not corn, that is responsible for much of the increase in food prices, but they also fail to consider that if it weren’t for ethanol, gasoline would cost even more than it already does. An analyst for Merrill Lynch estimates that oil and gasoline prices would be about 15 percent higher if bio fuels weren't replacing some of the oil we're using thus helping to reduce the demand for oil.

We, as a Nation, must not give in to the unfounded panic from a few shrill voices who are trying to create a food versus fuel fight. We must not abandon the promise that bio fuels hold for the future of the United States. We must continue our serious and comprehensive push to sustain alternatives to oil.

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	Column	May 19, 2008
CORN NOT THE CULPRIT IN CLIMBING COSTS I'm getting tired of unfounded attacks blaming ethanol derived from corn for driving up the price of everything from eggs to bread. The real culprit behind drastic increases in the price of food, and just about everything else, is the outrageously high cost of oil. How Much Corn Is In A Box Of Corn Flakes? About 8 percent of the weight in a box of corn flakes is corn which amounts to about 4 cents. The National Corn Growers Association says less than 5 percent of the purchase price reflects the price of corn. The remainder of the cost is in advertising, packaging and transportation. Corn prices have contributed only slightly to the rising cost of food. The primary reason food costs are going up is expensive oil. The National Corn Growers Association points out that a $1 per gallon increase in the price of gas has triple the impact on food prices as does a $1 per bushel increase in the price of corn. Nearly Everything In Agriculture Involves Oil Farmers are paying 3 and a half dollars a gallon for gasoline for their pickups, which is about 60 cents a gallon more than last year. They're paying more than 4 dollars a gallon for diesel, which is $1.35 more than last year, to run their tractors, combines, and irrigation systems. Then there’s the rapidly escalating cost of fertilizer which is a petroleum by product, that often comes in containers made of oil based plastic. When the raw product leaves the farm for processing, and is later shipped to the supermarket, it travels on semi trucks that are spending as much as $800 a tank for diesel fuel. That's nearly $300 more than last year. Energy Independence Is Needed Ethanol production is just one part of the long road to better energy security that will help America begin to take control of its energy needs and reduce our reliance on expensive foreign oil – and corn based ethanol is only the first step. Eventually, we will not rely as heavily on corn when research pays off to make large scale cellulosic ethanol production from switch grass and field waste. Those who think that corn being diverted for ethanol is to blame for international food shortages also fail to take into account that the U.S. corn exports are increasing, up six percent last year. Ethanol Helps Keep Oil Prices From Going Higher Not only do ethanol critics fail to recognize that it's oil, not corn, that is responsible for much of the increase in food prices, but they also fail to consider that if it weren’t for ethanol, gasoline would cost even more than it already does. An analyst for Merrill Lynch estimates that oil and gasoline prices would be about 15 percent higher if bio fuels weren't replacing some of the oil we're using thus helping to reduce the demand for oil. We, as a Nation, must not give in to the unfounded panic from a few shrill voices who are trying to create a food versus fuel fight. We must not abandon the promise that bio fuels hold for the future of the United States. We must continue our serious and comprehensive push to sustain alternatives to oil. ###