Ethanol scam driving up food prices

[Nye Bevan]

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - For more than two decades, special interests have persuaded Congress to mandate Americans buy ethanol whether they want to or not. As a result, 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop is now used for ethanol rather than food. The ethanol mandate means that ordinary Americans pay more for a poorer quality automobile fuel and more for groceries. Ethanol proponents claim these costs will bring us environmental benefits and energy security. They are wrong.

A good first question about a mandate is "how good can a product be if you have to force people to buy it?" The answer: not very good. Ethanol is vastly inferior to gasoline. Consider these glaring drawbacks: Its energy density is a third lower, reducing cars' emissions. It attracts water, so it cannot be transported in regular gas and oil pipelines, reduces lubricants' effectiveness, and shortens engine lives. It is caustic, corroding engine parts and dislodging contaminants from fuel tanks.

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The mandate for corn-based ethanol also drives up food prices. Meeting the 2015 mandate will require using 5.3 billion bushels of corn. As a result of the forced conversion of corn to ethanol, any food containing corn - including pork, beef and ice cream - costs more.

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Before his 2008 run for president, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., opposed ethanol subsidies and said "No one would be willing to buy it" without federal mandates. In 2008 in a speech in Grinnell, Iowa, he declared it "a vital alternative energy source." That flip-flop from Congress' most famous "maverick" illustrates the power of ethanol special interests.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?no=subj&articleid=20130111_222_A12_CUTLIN834544

[Follow The Money]

1. high food and gas prices have driven poverty more than anything else

this also drives the cost of government sky high, from the post office to the military.

[RebelOne]

3. You're not kidding!!

Gas prices don't bother me too much because I am retired and only drive about 1 or 2 miles a day. But each time I go to the grocery store, which is weekly, the prices on items I normally buy have gone up.

[bvar22]

4. Slightly Off Topic, but...

...several of the gas stations in my area advertise NO ETHANOL in their gas.

How do they circumvent the Mandate?