by GasMan
May 12, 2009 @ 9:28 am
GOODLATTE CALLS ON EPA TO STOP ETHANOL BLEND INCREASE
Washington, DC: Today Congressman Bob Goodlatte was joined by many other Members of Congress in sending a letter to President Barack Obama, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson urging them not to approve the current request submitted to EPA to increase the ethanol blend in gasoline. Raising the ethanol blend above 10% could result in serious economic consequences that could negatively affect already struggling American consumers.
“Raising…
Read the full story
From AgWeek
An Iowa State University agricultural economist who is famous for criticizing the ethanol fuel industry recently made his third appearance in a row at the annual North Dakota Grain Dealers convention. The entertaining economist, Dave Swenson, says he has no idea whether ethanol will be around in another 10 years, but technological feasibility doesn’t necessarily mean economic feasibility, and economic feasibility doesn’t necessarily mean environmental, political or social feasibility. “Politics often leads to sub-optimal programs and policies,” Swenson says.…
Read the full story
From Keith Good’s farm policy blog, …
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in December, its third consecutive monthly decline, after sliding 1.7 percent in November. The so-called core rate, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, was unchanged.
“For all of 2008, consumer prices grew just 0.1 percent while the core rate rose 1.8 percent, the Labor Department reported.”
The Times article added that, “Economists have warned that prices will probably…
Read the full story
The global recession has collapsed both oil and grain prices, putting the food v fuel debate on the back burner. However, when and as the world economy recovers, demand for energy will increase. At the same time, U.S. and EU policies ensure that demand for corn and other biofuel feedstocks will increase.
Anticipating renewed debate on food v fuel in the New Year, I attach several relevant studies that appeared during the past six months.
Bruce Babcock, Breaking the Link between Food and Biofuels, Iowa Ag Review, Summer…
Read the full story
by GasMan
November 17, 2008 @ 11:01 pm
Coalition calls for end to ethanol subsidies
By Ann Bagel Storck on 11/17/2008
A coalition of groups including the National Turkey Federation, the American Meat Institute, the National Chicken Council and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association plans to gather in Washington Tuesday to ask Congress and the next administration to repeal ethanol subsidies.
The coalition, which also includes environmental organizations, government watchdog groups and hunger advocates, will also share the results of a recent Ipsos Omnibus Survey that “point to overwhelming concern across…
Read the full story
by GasMan
October 08, 2008 @ 8:14 am
October 8, 2008
U.N. Says Biofuel Subsidies Raise Food Bill and Hunger
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
ROME - A United Nations food agency called on Tuesday for a review of biofuel subsidies and policies, noting that they had contributed significantly to rising food prices and the hunger in poor countries.
With policies and subsidies to encourage biofuel production in place in much of the developed world, farmers often find it more profitable to plants crops for fuel than for food, a shift that has helped…
Read the full story
by GasMan
September 24, 2008 @ 11:01 am
The “luxury” of dealing with a $700 bln equity bailout is that we in the US can still afford food - even at current biofuel-induced levels. That’s not true for the rest of the world, …
By Tom Barkley
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–The head of the International Monetary Fund urged
global leaders Wednesday to not forget about developing countries still
struggling with high food and fuel prices, an ongoing problem that threatens to
be overshadowed by the latest blowup in financial markets.
“We can’t…
Read the full story
by GasMan
September 12, 2008 @ 12:10 pm
Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) — Ford Heights Ethanol LLC applied in June 2006 to build a distillery in the Illinois town that bears its name, promising economic revival to replace abandoned houses and closed stores. Two years later, no work has begun.
For Ford Heights and other agricultural towns, the “green- collar” job revolution envisioned by federal biofuel mandates is a dream deferred. Knee-high grass and old tires cover the site as record prices for corn, the main ingredient in ethanol, discourage…
Read the full story
by GasMan
September 08, 2008 @ 12:06 am
By MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer
Sun Sep 7, 3:25 AM ET
With the dollar a day he earns scrounging for scrap metal and paper, Jumadi can’t buy his family beef or even chicken. But until now, the rail-thin scavenger could at least afford soy.
His wife and two children snacked on slabs of fried fermented soy, known as tempeh, and tossed the cake-like staple into bland bowls of noodles and soup. The soy provided protein, and it was cheap.
Not any more. The…
Read the full story
by GasMan
August 25, 2008 @ 12:19 pm
great editorial
Copyright 2008 Penton Business Media, Inc.
Byline: Matthew Enis
August 25, 2008
Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., went on the defensive during last week’s Senate committee hearing organized to address the food-vs.-fuel debate over corn and ethanol.
“Corn-based ethanol is not perfect, but it’s been blamed for practically every problem under the sun,” Nelson said. “What’s next? Summer colds? Computer viruses? Bad hair days?”
To some extent, Nelson is right. Several factors are responsible for driving the price of corn futures from less than…
Read the full story
