huskerbob

It's Now 'Official': Ethanol Is a Scam

In defense of ethanol, when we started our local plant, no one wanted our corn, and you couldn't give wheat away! No farmer I knew forsaw a future of food shortages and high prices. We thought it was a good way to help America, ourselves, and fight Cargill and ADM (who later sabotaged and bought out our plant for a song).
I think now many farmers (out of the few that are left) realize that ethanol is not the best long term solution but they are desparate not to return to hanging on by their fingernails year after year.

It's Now 'Official': Ethanol Is a Scam

Tim - any solution that helps reduce dependency on foreign oil will provide 1000's of jobs and free up money for spending on items other than fuel. So why not decide to give the tax breaks to a process that is actually efficient and sustainable? All of this arguing is a moot anyway, as eaters can easily outbid fuel producers for corn, beans, or any other popular food to fuel source. Ethanol from corn and soy diesel will soon be strangled by their own inefficiency and better sources of fuel (landfill waste, camelina, sugar, etc). Unless gas prices keep soaring:(

It's Now 'Official': Ethanol Is a Scam

Sorry, but ethanol isn't causing starvation in Africa. Corn prices have risen so much that they will soon be paying ten cents per pound. OMG! How can anyone afford to eat when corn is a whopping ten cents a pound! I guess the few farmers who are left can. Not sure if you noticed but the prices for all ag inputs have more than tripled in the past few years. Only a few years ago the price of corn was at it's lowest point in US history(inflation adjusted).
This is all beside the point. People will still eat corn at 15 or even, god forbid, 20 cents a pound. But there won't be a single ethanol plant operating at those prices.
And for the record, I agree: yes,ethanol from corn is so stupid that it borders on criminal. But no one is being priced out of eating because corn is $6/bushel. I am getting sick of hearing people bitch about the price of groceries. There is 8 cents worth of corn in a $4 box of corn flakes, and less than 10 cents worth in a pound of tortillas! You can't have ridiculously cheap food for all eternity!