Armed with power points and statistics, officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture held a press conference in Washington DC Monday to discuss the case for producing both food and fuel in the United States.
“We think the time has come for USDA to join in the public conversation about the relationship between food prices and biofuels,” said Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer. “We want to offer our perspective and what has happened in the marketplace, to share our data and the analysis of what has happened.”
Presenting the data was USDA chief economist Dr. Joe Glauber, who pointed out that all commodity prices have risen in the past year, not just food prices. “We certainly don’t want to minimize what’s going on with ethanol, because it is a very important factor in today’s market, but it’s important to discuss it in its proper context,” Glauber said. He noted that all commodities are up 47 percent, food is up 46 percent, and oil is up 68 percent.
The factors Glauber says have contributed to higher food prices are economic growth, weather, export restrictions, higher food marketing and transportation costs, and finally, increases in biofuels.
An economic analysis of the pass-through for an increase in corn prices on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows that a 50 percent increase in corn prices raises the CPI less than one percent, but Glauber says, “It’s a difficult thing to sort out how much of the increase in corn prices was necessarily due to ethanol.”
However, he says the Council of Economic Advisers estimates the total global increase in corn-based ethanol production accounts for only about three percent of the recent increase in global food prices.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 includes provisions enabling the EPA Administrator to grant a full or partial waiver if implementation of the RFS would severely harm the economy or environment of a state, region, or the entire country, or if EPA determines there is inadequate domestic supply of renewable fuel. In consultation with the Departments of Agriculture and Energy, EPA must decide on a waiver request within 90 days of receiving it. 
The senator made the remarks during his first campaign stop in the state that is becoming a leader in wind energy production in 
Renewable Energy Group (REG) of Ames now runs animal fats in at least four of its seven biodiesel plants in the state, according to Gary Haer, vice president of sales and marketing.
Carlos Riva, president of cellulosic ethanol firm 
Passage in the committee gained 
Two of the main architects of the new Farm Bill are more than thrilled with overwhelming passage of the legislation this week by both the House and Senate.
Senate Ag Ranking Republican Saxby Chambliss of Georgia said of the bill, “We’re going to make sure that we provide future generations with alternative energy projects and that we do it in the right way.”
The conference featured every vehicle technology under the hot sun on display and several panels and workshops helped to educate and provide information about the various blends of ethanol and especially how they can fit into greener fleets. 
