Free Republic

High consumption of soybean oil has been linked to obesity and diabetes and potentially autism, Alzheimer's disease, anxiety, and depression. Add now to this growing list ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, characterized by chronic inflammation of the large intestine. Researchers examined the gut of mice that were consistently fed a diet high in soybean oil for up to 24 weeks in the lab. They found beneficial bacteria decreased and harmful bacteria (specifically, adherent invasive Escherichia coli) increased—conditions that can lead to colitis. Soybean oil is the most commonly used edible oil in the United States....

Corn-based ethanol may be more emission-intensive than previously thought and is likely contributing to more emissions than gasoline, a new study finds. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that the environmental benefits of the U.S. renewable fuel standard (RFS) remain unclear. Under the Renewable Fuel Standard, oil refiners are required to blend growing amounts of renewable fuels into gasoline and diesel. The RFS raised corn prices, which in turn expanded the land used for corn crops. This increases emissions from the conversion of land to corn crops, and raises fertilizer and water usage, says...

But then in September, the EPA truly infuriated the biofuel industry by floating the idea of bringing the proposed total even lower, and of revisiting other renewable fuel requirements for 2018 and 2019 finalized under the Obama administration. The proposal is in line with what the oil and gas industry want (those energy producers think the RFS adds to the cost of refining petroleum and wants to see Congress rewrite the underlying 2005 law). “Until Congress acts to address the structural flaws with the RFS,” Frank J. Macchiarola of the American Petroleum Institute wrote in a letter to the EPA...

If your diet consists entirely of bacon, you probably haven’t noticed that food prices in the United States are rising. Practically everything else is going up, and the respite for lovers of pork bellies is temporary. Last week, the American Farm Bureau Federation, an organization of farmers and ranchers, announced the results of its quarterly Marketbasket Survey, and the outlook for producers and consumers is not great. Every quarter since 1989, the federation has conducted an informal survey to determine the price of a basket of 16 basic food items an average American would purchase at a local grocery store....