Associated Press reports we should not hold farmers or the ethanol industry responsible for rising food prices. There are other contributing factors, such as inflation and fuel costs, but we certainly can also include those heavily subsidized ag-fuelers in the blame game, even though AP downplays it:
Ethanol producers acknowledge they’ve increased demand for corn but say it’s not enough to affect food prices.
Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association, said the ethanol industry only uses about 25 percent of the nation’s corn supply.
Only 25 percent? So we’re setting aside one-quarter of the core good we produce, which goes into so much of the food the world consumes (meat, dairy, eggs, Corn Chex), to instead burn it for no good reason. Blame also the lawmakers who think in their infinite wisdom that they are good at creating “markets.”
