Ethanol boom may fuel shortage of tequila

[motocicleta]

Source: MSNBC

MEXICO CITY - Mexican farmers are setting ablaze fields of blue agave, the cactus-like plant used to make the fiery spirit tequila, and resowing the land with corn as soaring U.S. ethanol demand pushes up prices.

The switch to corn will contribute to an expected scarcity of agave in coming years, with officials predicting that farmers will plant between 25 percent and 35 percent less agave this year to turn the land over to corn.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18926019/

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I tried to come up with a snarky sideline to this, but wit fails me. I guess this means tequila will just get a lot more expensive so the US can gain zero economic efficiency (not to mention negligible help in the fight against global warming) from the latest use for corn. Great.

[mike_c]

1. this is wrong on so MANY levels....

:cry:

[Berry Cool]

4. Stephanie Miller will NOT be happy to hear about this.

So much for "party over here, party over there." :-(

[bmbmd]

36. Not to mention

Bartcop-this may be the last straw for him.

[DemoTex]

37. Bart's Tequila Treehouse

Chinaco

[motocicleta]

10. I feel your pain.

[givemebackmycountry]

2. No-No-No-NO!

What am I and my friend Bartcop going to do?

I guess that NOW is the time to go invest in some tequila futures.
As in I'm going to stock up on tequila for the future!

I can live without a lot of things but live without CHINACO Anejo?

Surely you jest.

[Pavulon]

3. Big win from biofuel

money goes to farmers, not oil whores and tinhorns.

[anotherCTliberal]

7. Not sure how this is a win ...

You'll still need an oil company to distribute the product at the pump for consumer use, hence they'll still reap huge profits. We're now moving towards growing fuel sources instead of using the land wisely to grow food. The price of corn will also skyrocket so what are we gaining? :(

Notice how all 'alternative' fuel sources now still require distribution from said oil companies? Hydrogen, ethanol .. not one dares mention electric/solar vehicles.

[Pavulon]

16. Domestic raw material. Dont care about the price

as long as the money for raw material stays local. We pay vast wealth out to foreign powers to access the petro fuel.

[deweyp]

29. Those foreign powers

The top five foreign countries that the US imports oil from in order as a percentage of imports:

Canada: 18%
Mexico: 15%
Nigeria: 12%
Saudi Arabia: 12%
Venezuela: 10%

30-40% of the crude oil used in the United States every day is pumped out of the ground in the United States.

[EST]

5. Want a little snark?

I guess this oughta take care of that little drinking and driving problem you have, eh?
Heheheh-your choice.

[sam sarrha]

6. what a blessing..

[MuseRider]

8. OK now this just pisses me off.

Now what? No Tequila? I guess my affair with legal "intoxication" will come to a halt.

[motocicleta]

11. Remember: it will just get more expensive, not go away.

They cannot destroy tequila, they can only make us afford less of it.

[MuseRider]

19. Whew!

Seriously, as a farmer I have bad feelings about ethanol. I see too many looking to making some money after all the years of bad prices. I am talking about the small, family operations. That is just all we need, more food crops gone for ethanol not to mention very expensive tequila.

[wuushew]

9. This will mean less vomit in bars, which is a good thing

Loss of one of the three wisemen is not an insurmountable obstacle. People can make up the slack by drinking more rum.

[MindPilot]

12. Yeah, and no oxygen will mean less rust.

But I still need to breathe so I tolerate the rust...and the vomit.

Maybe my car will run on Cuvero and I can still run on Chinaco...

[motocicleta]

13. Since I do not frequent those kind of bars, I do not stand to gain much from

this development.

So who are the other two wise men, dare I ask? Goldschlager and Jagermeister? Bud Light and jello shots? Rum and coke?

[MindPilot]

14. since gastrointestinal distress seems guaranteed; rum's already mentioned

I'm going to say Goldschlager.

[knight_of_the_star]

39. Johnny, Jim, and Jack are the other three

Although it could also be Johnny (Johnny Walker) and Jack (Jack Daniels), although how I heard it Johnny, Jack, and Jim with Jose is the three wise men and their gardener.

[fujiyama]

30. You got it wrong

It's the Four Horseman which contains tequila (Jose Cuervo).

The Three Wiseman is Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, and Johnny Walker.

[Coventina]

34. I hate rum. I love tequila. The two are NOT interchangeable.

:eyes:

[OnyxCollie]

15. I hope this doesn't affect the margarita specials at my favorite Mexican restaurants. nt

[sleipnir]

17. All of the sugar-cane farms in Puerto Rico are going to be laughing to the bank.

Rum and Daiquiris can only profit from this...

[BrklynLiberal]

18. I thought for sure that would turn out to be from The Onion.....

[motocicleta]

25. Sounds about right, don't it? nt

[gravity]

20. Now it's personal

Tequila is already expensive enough as it is.

[guitar man]

21. Never was much of a Tequila drinker myself

So, I wonder what this corn liquor they're talkin about is gonna be like?? :silly:

[toddaa]

22. It's already driving up the price of bourbon

Which is one of the four major food groups. Ugh.

[gravity]

23. Hell, why can't we just drink the ethanol?

We could buy moonshine by the gallon

[slackmaster]

35. They're going to call it "Victory Tequila"

:argh:

[ToeBot]

24. As long as the Scot's don't get any damn fool ideas, I'm cool with this. n/t

[pingzing58]

26. Truth is their is no shortage of agave farmers had no one to buy it. Manipulated inflation.

[DBoon]

27. If a tequila shortage won't cause a revolution in the US

then we are beyond hope

</snark>

[TX-RAT]

38. Only a shortage of Canadian Whisky would get me protesting.

[deweyp]

28. Ethanol boom may fuel shortage of...

Popcorn.

If all the corn grown in the US today was turned into ethanol, it would only replace about 10% of the gasoline we use each day.

[Neshanic]

31. Meanwhile in Phoenix, Agaves disappear mysteriously from front yards.

[Buns_of_Fire]

32. Dammit, NOW this is starting to get series!

What's next? Finding out that hops, barley, and malt make an acceptable biofuel instead of what God intended them to be used for? This is UnAmurcan!

[liberal N proud]

33. Shortage of tequila? NOoooooooooooooo!

Don't let them take my tequila

[knight_of_the_star]

40. I'll have to pick up a few bottles now

The price of that stuff is going to go up nicely if this trend continues, talk about a nice kind of savings account ;).

[underpants]

41. Germans growing corn instead of barley--BEER too

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=102

[KansDem]

42. Don't like to see a conflict between the "crops for fuel" and "crops for food" factions...

Now while I applaud any new development to wean us off oil--especially imported oil, I just don't see much good coming from a long-term investment in fuel from crops...

[KansDem]

43. self delete

:blush: ...wrong place.

[KansDem]

44. Relax, folks...!!!

...:9