The Way I See It The Real Tie Between Food, Fuel Prices
A
n interesting phenomenon has occurred.
We have always had more than
While U.S. ethanol production continues
enough grain. This year’s corn
to rise, the price of corn and other com-
crop will be the second-largest
modities followed oil’s downward trend in
in history. Countries around
the wake of Wall Street’s marked October setback. Mean-
the world are anxious to pro-
while, food prices haven’t budged.
duce corn and other crops,
This is more proof that the allegation about corn-
but need to have high-enough
based ethanol driving up the price of food has been noth-
market prices to be able to ef-
ing more than a hoax of gigantic proportion promoted by
fectively do so. They have the
the Grocery Manufacturers Association.
land, labor and technology, but
It’s all been a farce, a marketing strategy of criminal
the market price is too low.
proportion that has allowed the greed of the GMA to
The grocery industry was able to convince Congress
encourage grocers across the country to raise consumer
and others that higher commodity prices were starving
prices and blame fuel-grade ethanol. Farmers have always
people and causing human catastrophes of epidemic pro-
been somewhat trapped between rising fuel/fertilizer costs
portion. The true fact is that those high commodity prices
and the greedy grocers who spend millions on packaging,
were the only global bright spot for agriculture. It’s an op-
marketing and transportation and then blame commodity
portunity lost for countries around the world to improve
prices. This has been one of the few times in American
their self-sufficiency by cultivating millions of acres of ar-
history that the farmers have actually been able to make a
able land that now lies fallow because of low prices.
decent return on their investment, and the GMA has portrayed them as villains While grocery prices remain high, we have ships loaded with grain for export backed up in harbors because many
Perhaps a good slogan for the GMA would be, “Why do you need farmers when you have all these grocery stores?” That’s the way I see it!
of the importing countries don’t have the ability to pay.
Mike Bryan Publisher & CEO mbryan@bbibiofuels.com
14
ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2008