Corn for Food, Not Fuel.

NY Times (Op-Editorial) ^ | July 30, 2012 | COLIN A. CARTER and HENRY I. MILLER

[Carriage Hill]

IT is not often that a stroke of a pen can quickly undo the ravages of nature, but federal regulators now have an opportunity to do just that. Americans’ food budgets will be hit hard by the ongoing Midwestern drought, the worst since 1956. Food bills will rise and many farmers will go bust.

An act of God, right? Well, the drought itself may be, but a human remedy for some of the fallout is at hand — if only the federal authorities would act. By suspending renewable-fuel standards that were unwise from the start, the Environmental Protection Agency could divert vast amounts of corn from inefficient ethanol production back into the food chain, where market forces and common sense dictate it should go.

[Carriage Hill]

This Op-Ed piece makes more sense than anything the NYSlimes has published in the past several years. And for that reason alone, it'll (most likely) never happen.

[sten]

\

what's wrong with using all your food for fleeting activities?

[cornfedcowboy]

“could divert vast amounts of corn from inefficient ethanol production back into the food chain,”

---

Apparently these writers have never heard of DDG’s. Also, suspending the renewable fuels act will have little or no effect on the price of food. It’s all about the devalued dollar on the international markets.

[Carriage Hill]

Looks like self-monuments to our criminal US CongressCritters, by our corrupt US CongressCritters.

[Carriage Hill]

I'm sure they've heard and know-well about DDGs, but they just ignore the obvious.

[MestaMachine]

“By suspending renewable-fuel standards that were unwise from the start, the Environmental Protection Agency could...”

But they won’t. They are at war with us and will beat us down as hard as they can. If there had been no drought, they would have thought up some other crisis to impact our farmers...and by extension, all the rest of us.
The epa is a purely evil entity.

[lowbridge]

Haven’t we been saying this for years?

Welcome to the real world, NYT.

[Carriage Hill]

The EPA is criminal, corrupt and evil. All of them should be stood against a wall...

[babble-on]

note the writer is from Hoover Inst.

[upchuck]

Quit
burning
my food!

[9YearLurker]

So I take it you’re a beneficiary of the ethanol lobby?

[Red Badger]

First Rule of Civilization:

DON’T BURN YOUR FOOD!.................

[Carriage Hill]

100% right.

It never made any sense to me, when sugar is (somewhat) more efficient than corn and plentifully available, yet ethanol itself is a frigging boondoggle (subsidy scam) which costs 25-30% more to produce than it yields. And it damages engines etc. But that’s just the gov’t idiots’ line-of-reasoning with our hard-earned tax dollars.

[Red Badger]

It all boils down (pun intended) to ‘pull’.
The corn/ethanol lobby has more $$ and can throw their weight around much more efficiently than the ‘Big Sugar’ lobby can.
Only a few states grow sugar cane and beets, but many more grow corn, so they have more political clout, and more senators and congresscritters to bribe with campaign bucks. Or threaten to support their opponent and give money to the Super Pacs to do it for them.......

[cornfedcowboy]

So I take it you are the beneficiary of the oil lobby?