Energy blamed more than ethanol for food prices

[depakid]

Ethanol bears some of the blame for last year's rising food prices, but oil and electricity bear more, according to a new congressional study of the food-versus-fuel debate.

The ethanol industry and its critics have been locked in a fierce argument over whether the alternative fuel, typically made from corn, pushes up food prices. Thursday's report from the Congressional Budget Office gives some ammunition to each side.

Researchers found that ethanol production was responsible for 10 to 15 percent of the increase in food prices between April 2007 and April 2008. As new ethanol biorefineries opened across the country, corn prices rose, causing a wave of price increases for everything from corn-syrup sweeteners to meat from animals fed with corn.

But ethanol production wasn't the only culprit.

Between 22 and 36 percent of the overall increase in food prices can be traced to the rising cost of traditional energy sources such as gasoline, diesel and electricity, according to the report. Virtually every step of food production - from planting to transportation to processing - consumes fuel or electricity. The period covered by the report also saw record-breaking oil and gasoline prices.

More: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/09/BUHL1704UL.DTL

[DCKit]

1. Any and every commodity is subject to price-gouging and manipulation on the flimsiest of excuses.

The peak oil and oil shortage apologists were all over this board last summer while loaded tankers were sitting off-shore waiting for a bigger pay day for the speculators - many of whom lost their asses when the word got out. Is it any different with corn? All that was needed was some conveniently complicit M$M buzz about the huge demand from ethanol production and traders/hedge funds looking for the next big thing once it became clear that they couldn't keep oil at $150+ for any length of time without an actual shortage. They had to move the money somewhere, and it went to commodities.

Does it matter whether the price of oil and electricity had *more* of an impact on food prices, or that consumers are being screwn from every possible angle, using any excuse to take more money out of our pockets?

It's the greed, dude. Backed by a complete lack of regulation and oversight.

[Terry in Austin]

2. I hereby apologize for peak oil

Won't let it happen again...

:eyes:

[phantom power]

3. The good news is it *can't* happen twice.

In any given hundred megayear period, anyway.

:evilgrin:

[DCKit]

5. "Peak Oil" does NOT = "Instant Shortage"

However, that IS the way it was being portrayed last summer - as if the entire supply had suddenly dried up. But you remember, 'cause you were here too - blaming peak oil for the price we were paying at the pump.

And as I said, once it became common knowledge that full tankers were sitting, lined up, off the TX coast, the facade crumbled and prices fell far faster (for a change) than they had risen. Hell, even the Saudi Oil minister went on camera to talk about the "over supply".

You can woo-woo all you want, but my original post outlined the scam quite thoroughly.

[Dogmudgeon]

6. "Woo-woo" -- ? You're in the wrong forum.

I think you want the Atheism/Religion forum.

This forum is for insulting people who support nuclear energy, not religion.

--d!
And keep yer gun-grabbin' hands off'n my guns, too!

[DCKit]

9. Exajoules!!1!1!!!11 Thanks for the reminder. n/t

[Systematic Chaos]

10. ROFL

:yourock:

[phantom power]

4. BTW, the headline framing interests me...

Does ethanol not count as "energy?"

:shrug:

[Dead_Parrot]

7. That struck me, too

although the whole premise is something of a Klein bottle.

"Energy is now more expensive, which is why there's a demand for ethanol. But that's not why your food is going up, except that it is"

[depakid]

8. Make that three of us

The subeditor seemed to be attempting to emphasize the effect of corn supplies in isolation from petroleum price increases, when in fact the two are related.