No mention of the drought that is hitting 26 states.
There was an "honorable mention" by Paul Conway, COB of Cargill, who also strongly opposes mandates for biofuels, but points to other contributary factors for high food prices.
< snip > ..... "In the last five months we lost roughly 100 million tonnes of crops, largely in South America and most recently in the US grain belt, which has been dealing with 100 degree temperatures," he says. ..... < snip >
He said that these and other factors, including demographics, worldwide rise in the standards of living and the 20% reduction in agricultural investment, all have contributed to higher food prices.
He also noted that most of these crops, particularly in the U.S., are later converted into sweeteners (read corn syrup) and animal feed which then raises the prices of meat and other products.