Who cares? You do ...or at least you will.
If you're a fan of pinkocommiefagjunkie books and films (like I am!), you know the extent to which global food depends on corn.
Corn and/or corn syrup (HFCS) is in almost every food in the supermercado and the vast majority of beef, pork, and chicken which is produced on a diet of almost nothing but corn.
Today ...even though the world is producing more corn than ever, prices are at record levels.
Hey! I thought that if supplies were at all-time highs, prices would come down. You know, "supply and demand" and all that.
Well, supply is up ...but demand is up even more. Who´s doin´ all the demandin´? People and Motor Fuel.
40% of US CORN IS USED FOR ETHANOL PRODUCTION (source: USDA)
Since USA is #1 in corn production, their 40% ends up being more than 22% of world corn production being converted to happy motoring.
Now, I´m an agricultural type a guy ...so many of my friends are ag-types as well. Sadly, some of my friends are lying sacks of bosta.
The trouble with that is some of those lying sacks have a lot of clout with the USDA ...enough to get the USDA to change their 40% figure to reflect that the refuse from the ethanol plants is available for animal feed (who knows, soon maybe even human feed!)
Under pressure, the USDA said this week that 1/3 of all corn used to make ethanol gasoline additive ...returns as animal feed as whatcha call "distillers' grains" which have had most of the starch sucked out of it and must be combined with sugar to bring it back up to nutritional levels for animals. Sugar prices are already high ...get ready for more.
Another problem is that all this ethanol production is driving up BOTH the price of corn AND the price of their distillers' grains refuse even before they add sugar or sugar by-products.
The cost of distillers' grains have already risen so much that they are comparable in price to Canadian barley.
That´s bad news for beer drinkers as Canada is a major producer and exporter of barley ...and Canadian cattle ranchers are now feeding it to animals they used to feed on corn.
In Illinois, hog farmers are feeding pigs on wheat. Aside from being an astounding use of wheat ...it´s bad news for lovers of bread and other wheat products.
Don´t drink beer? Don´t eat bread? Don´t worry, you´ll feel it too.
It´s a push-me / pull-you situation we´re in. Under worldwide high demand for food of all types, if you take corn from one guy ...he just takes wheat and barley from another guy ...and the prices just keep going up encouraging farmers of your other favorite crops to stop what they usually grow and join in the fun!
And if your favorite organic farmers and ranchers haven´t switched some or all of their acres to the ethanol-caused bonanza ...you can be sure that they will be charging you a premium in order to drive the same new pickup trucks their ethanol producing neighbors are buying.
This eventually trickles-down to developing and under-developed countries ...giving arms merchants a shot at being able to bid on the last piece of sushi from the last bluefin tuna.
EVEN WORSE (I saved this for last)...
These high prices are causing food producers to scramble for even more "non-traditional" alternatives to corn, wheat, barley, and distillers' grains.
Dairy farmers are being recommended to replace those grains with:
* Agricultural residues (leftover material from crops, such as the stalks, leaves, and husks of corn plants).
* Forestry wastes (chips and sawdust from lumber mills, dead trees, and tree branches).
* Municipal solid waste (household garbage and paper products).
* Food processing and other industrial wastes (black liquor, a paper manufacturing by-product).
* Energy crops (fast-growing trees and grasses) developed just for this purpose.
I don´t know about you ...but I find that disgusting. What to do? Know your food. Know where it comes from. Know who it comes from. Drive less. Use more public transport.
Your patronage of real food and those who produce it will also help build a bulwark against the Soylent Greening of the world.
You could also speak out against ethanol fuel additives whenever the opportunity presents itself. If you´d like me to present you with some opportunities like that, just let me know. Otherwise, go eat yogurt made from household garbage and paper products.
4 comments:
CNN says: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/22/earth.day.ethanol/index.html?hpt=C2
The closing sentence says that one thing all sides agree on is that corn is not the best option for making ethanol.
Great article, Mike! Brian McMahon
Hey Mikey, good article. I have been working on sustainable living for a few years now. Garden failed first shot due to too much moisture and wildlife eating it (deer, mostly) but I am going to give it another shot this year. I buy locally, organic, non-processed food (though I am vegetarian) and frequent our Farmer's market. Here in Bloomington, its the whole culture. I hope to some day soon be able to cut out the commuting for the environmental impact but at this point, I have to make a living. Just need to find a new way to do it.
Blessings to you for the work you are doing. (I do encourage meat eaters to use grass-fed pastured product, local if they can).
Ta-ta for now.
There is a lot more to talk about on the subject of corn.
The birthplace of corn, Mexico, is being hard hit by the high prices. It is wiping out the traditional corn used for the national "bread", tortillas.
If the high-prices are not moving farmers to the US hybrids ...the cross-pollination is destroying the traditional strains.
When US subsidized corn was cheap, it drove Mexican corn farmers out of business. Now that it is expensive, Mexico is having big troubles buying it from their #1 supplier: the US.
Corn tortillas are considered a birthright and an national heritage ...much like cheap gasoline in the US ...and cheap grass-fed beef in Argentina.
Screw with any of those three ...and governments are in danger of toppling.
Doubts? Look at how much of the recent Arab uprisings were caused by the sudden hike in the price of wheat.
Post a Comment