The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 203
In 2010, a $4 box of cornflakes contained about 6 cents worth of corn. Even if
corn prices rose 50% that would mean that there's only 9 cents worth of corn in
a $4 box of cornflakes. There's a lot of space between 6 or 9 cents and $4. So
clearly it's not a rise in corn prices that is the problem.
As a matter of interest, current and recent corn prices (June 2015 bushel) are
about the same or slightly higher than they were in the 1970s, 1980s, and much
of the 1990s. You can check this out for yourself at:
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/commodity/corn.
As we all know, oil and petroleum oil fuel prices have also been lower in recent
months. Yet food prices keep rising. So if oil prices are down, and corn prices
are down, why are food prices rising and why does the blame continue to fall
on ethanol production? Food prices are rising because there are many other
factors to consider, such as the significant increases in minimum wages paid to
employees at food processing plants and retail stores, higher costs in real estate, higher taxes of all types, and higher advertising/marketing costs.
Needless to say, the oil industry never corrected the false stories and, without
the appropriate financial incentive to do so, the media outlets and media personalities had no financial motivation to revisit and recant their previous antiethanol broadcasts. Consequently, there far too many uncorrected media reports that are all too easily available. People like you read or hear these reports
and assume they are (still) accurate.
One other thing, Babalu, most corn used for ethanol production is not grown for
human consumption; so it's not a question of corn-laden trucks suddenly being
diverted from the mouths of obese junk-food eaters or starving peoples in farflung lands. Corn grown for ethanol provides work and profits for one of the
most important sectors of the American economy and society: domestic farmers.
July 12, 2015
Posted by TS:
Ethanol is subsidized, but you have to remember that it has less energy per
gallon. I don't have the specifics for pricing in your area, but let me throw out a
few numbers to illustrate. Say E85 is $2.70 and regular gasoline (E10
