Food prices jump 23% in last 18 months and could bring interest rate hikes Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke fears
The demand, triggered in part by the increasing use of agricultural commodities to make ethanol and other substitutes for crude oil, may keep prices high for years. The OECD sees U.S. output of corn-based ethanol and European consumption of oilseeds for biofuels doubling by 2016.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's estimate for global inventories of grain are at the lowest level in 30 years in terms of days of consumption, says Carl Weinberg, chief economist for High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York. bloomberg.com
Promoted by politicians because of the money flow and loved by oil companies because they giggle inside; ethanol uses as much fossil fuel to produce as is the energy produced by ethanol (see chart below/berkeley.edu).
Snowed by marketing, the American public digests this feeding frenzy on their quality of life while another creation of those who have money and power, get more.
It would be better to take all the government subsidies used to produce ethanol, add that to the cost to the consumer in rising inflation due to food costs and invest that into wind, solar, water or anything else that doesn’t feed our ever growing, greedy commodities market. While there isn’t an immediate return of profit skimming from known markets, we might instead try and build a nation with a reputation as a leader for ecological innovation that will one day save us from ourselves.
I agree that our efforts could be put to better use elsewhere. I wish our current "leaders" would rely more upon sound science when making energy decisions than simply trying to win votes.
By the way, I hope those are cherry tomatoes, 'cuz if they're beefsteak, you must have very big hands...haha.
Cherry indeed... nice to hear from you again