C-SPAN: James Woolsey on 'Energy and National Security' rips factory farming, HFCS, processed food

[proverbialwisdom]

as drivers of the childhood obesity epidemic. Just turned on c-span mid-lecture and heard his fierce condemnation of current practices.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Woolse

James Woolsey on Energy and National Security
Jul 8, 2013

Johns Hopkins University | Nitze (Paul H.) School of Advanced International Studies

Former CIA Director James Woolsey outlined the national security implications of U.S. dependence on oil and the importance of alternative energy resources.

1 hour, 54 minute

[proverbialwisdom]

1. Apparently for awhile.

http://econpolicy.com/econblog/admiral-james-woolsey-on-ethanol-from-corn/

Admiral James Woolsey on Ethanol from Corn
June 2009

I am running in the red on updating my blog as I grapple with new issues. Below is a post I started weeks ago, but did not finish.

Last night I had the good fortune to be invited to an event held by the Energy Conversation (http://www.energyconversation.org), featuring Admiral James Woolsey as a speaker. The title of his speech was: “Energy in the 21st Century: Can Muir, Patton and Ghandi Agree?” A rather grandiose title to be sure, but in my opinion, the admiral performed magnificently. I will discuss his position on producing ethanol from corn, since I do not immediately find it online and it is worthy of discussion. I am working from notes, not a transcript, and he presented this position in response to a question from the audience. If anyone interpreted his words differently or has another opinion, my blog is welcome to comments from all but spammers and trolls.

Adm. Woolsey favors the production of corn ethanol, claiming that the major force against it is the grocery manufacturers’ trade association, which wants cheap high fructose corn syrup. In response to the issue of corn being used primarily as grain for beef production, he points out that cows will still get the spent grain with protein and some unconverted carbohydrates intact, without the sugars in it that are not good for them ( as a onetime expert in microbreweries, I know this to be the case). So we reduce obesity, reduce the use of antibiotics given to farm animals, and treat cows more humanely, all while producing fuel for our vehicles. I do not believe he pointed out that Henry Ford’s original plan was to build vehicles that every farmer in our then-rural nation could fuel, but this is true also to the best of my knowledge.

This made me rethink my position. The reduction in supply of cheap high fructose corn syrup would likely reduce obesity, at least by raising the price and causing producers and final consumers to use less. I am not an animal husbandry expert, but I have seen feedlots where cows stand shoulder to shoulder in their waste, eating corn. I have not bought this beef for years due to both my own health concerns and concerns about how the animals are treated. His arguments are compelling.

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