Ethanol distillation plants are being built all over the corn belt. An environmental think tank predicts food prices will rise because corn is used for meat and many other food products. (Photo by Lester Graham)
There are new questions about how much grain it will take to supply all the ethanol plants being built around the U.S.
One group says more ethanol production will boost grain prices further. Chuck Quirmbach reports:
Transcript
There are new questions about how much grain it will take to supply all the ethanol plants being
built around the U.S. One group says more ethanol production will boost grain prices further.
Chuck Quirmbach reports:
The U.S. Ag department estimates the nearly 200 ethanol plants that are in production, being
expanded or being built will require 60 million tons of corn by the end of next year. But the
Earth Policy Institute says the actual need for corn will be more than twice that much.
Institute President Lester Brown says the surging demand for grain will drive up food prices.
“In a sense, our refrigerators are stuffed with corn that’s been converted into livestock products of
one sort or another, so what happens to corn prices will very much affect prices at the
supermarket checkout counter. ”
Brown says he’d like to see a moratorium on licensing new ethanol plants. But some farmers
contend they’ll be able to expand production to meet the additional demand for corn.
For the Environment Report, I’m Chuck Quirmbach.