The ethanol industry wasted no time fighting back today against another attack by the food industry to blame higher prices on ethanol production. The newly-formed Growth Energy called on the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) to “discontinue its deceptive attacks on the government’s investment in ethanol and other renewable fuels.” Growth Energy held a press conference shortly after the group “Food …
Ethanol Not Driving Food Prices
A Reuters report from the UK today quotes an economic expert as saying higher food prices this year were driven by speculators, not ethanol. Heavy demand for corn from ethanol makers was seen as a key driver of corn futures to record highs in June, but since then the sharp decline of corn along with other commodities shows that belief …
Nebraska Ethanol Forum
The Nebraska Ethanol Board, in cooperation with the University of Nebraska Center for Energy Science Research, is hosting a policy forum in October to discuss issues of rising energy and food prices. The forum will provide an opportunity for Nebraska policymakers and consumers to better understand how ethanol policy plays a role in economic development, energy security, agriculture and the …
Analyst Calls Food Versus Fuel a “Sound Bite”
Analysts with a major agricultural financial institution say alternative fuels are just one of the many factors causing higher food prices. Karol Aure-Flynn, executive director of the Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory department, says “food versus fuel” is basically a misleading sound bite. “The fallacy of the headline is that there is a direct competition between the two; …
Basis of EPA Decision on Ethanol Waiver
The bottom line for the Environmental Protection Agency when it came to making a decision on the request for a partial waiver of the Renewable Fuels Standard was the impact within the next year. According to EPA, “implementation of the RFS would have no significant impact in the relevant time frame (the 2008/2009 corn season), and the most likely result …
Farm Foundation Report Finds Three Reasons for High Food Prices
There seems to be no end to the rhetoric bouncing around between agricultural experts, critics and media about what’s driving food costs. Biofuels are still one of the most common scapegoats for why we’re paying more for our food than ever before. But the Farm Foundation wants to get to the root of it all. That’s why it sought out …
Study Credits Ethanol Policy With 25 Percent of Corn Price Hike
One of the more significant findings of a Purdue University study released this week on food price drivers is that ethanol policy is only responsible for $1 of the $4 price increase in corn prices since 2004. Economist Wally Tyner says between 2004 and the beginning of 2008, oil went from $40 per barrel to $120 per barrel at the …
Ethanol Report on Food Price Study
The Farm Foundation study on food price drivers released this week in Washington DC was the focus of a forum held at the National Press Club. This edition of “The Ethanol Report” features comments from the Farm Foundation forum and report on “What’s Driving Food Prices?” Featured are Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin, Purdue University economist Wally Tyner, and University …
New Alliance for Food and Fuel
A group of major players in the agribusiness sector have joined together to highlight the ability of American agriculture to meet both food and energy needs. The Alliance for Abundant Food and Energy includes Archer Daniels Midland, DuPont, John Deere, Monsanto, and the Renewable Fuels Association. The alliance asserts that “By growing more crops and developing more efficient ways of …