Replies

[Some has been driven by ethanol, sure. But that corn could be diverted to food instead,]

No need to "divert" it. Last time I talked to my corn-farming relations, they said >80 of the biomass of Corn used in ethanol production ends up as feed (the big golden pile in the photo below)... and food.

So there's not as much divertable over-production as your post might lead one to believe.

Furthermore, they know these production levels aren't long-term sustainable. Got Water and Fertilizer?

We're one good drought away from TSHTF. Let alone one like that which created the Nebraska Sand Hills...

"Today, Nebraska’s Sandhills, a region of gently rolling sand dunes blanketed with prairie grasses and wetlands that cover a quarter of the state, provide ideal habitat for wildlife and livestock.
During medieval times 800 to 1,000 years ago, however, the region was a swirling desert, far worse than the Dust Bowl of the 1930s...."