[Wonder Warthog]

"But moving a percentage of corn from the food supply to energy production decreases the availability of corn for food, and increases the price for corn and substitute items proportionally."

Excuse me, but bullshit. Look at the numbers---the total amount of corn went UP hugely, even after the amount of corn used in ethanol production is subtracted out from total production. By the law of supply and demand, the price of CORN derived products should have gone DOWN based on the increased supply.

It may be true that there would be some increase in the price of wheat, rice, rye and sorghum products to the extent that acreage used for their production was "switched" to corn---but NOT for corn products, so the driver for the price increase in CORN products is NOT ethanol production AT ALL, but some other factor. My guess is increased fuel costs, speculation, and opportunistic price gouging.

[dead]

I never said that the diversion of corn to ethanol is solely responsible for the increase in food prices, and you're right that the diversion should have been more than offset by the increase in production.

But for the author to claim that the diversion of corn to fuel rather than food does not affect the price of rice is bullshit.

There are many and more important factors in the current price spike of food, but the diversion of food to fuel is certainly and unequivocally an upward pressure on all food prices. It is impossible for it not to be.