Oil in Your Corn Flakes
Oil is getting a free pass in the food-v-fuel debate. Consider:
A $3 box of Corn Flakes contains 15 ounces of corn that cost 8 cents when bought from the farmer.
Meanwhile, U.S. farmers last year grew a record-setting 13.1 billion bushels of corn on 85 million acres. “Of that, 22% went to make about 7 billion gallons of ethanol,” according to Business Week. “That still left enough corn to supply the domestic market, increase exports to record levels, and stockpile a 10% surplus.”
So how has food gotten so expensive? Production, packaging and transportation, among other factors.
And what is the common denominator? Oil.
Oil prices topped out near $123 per barrel on Tuesday and Goldman Sachs predicted oil could rise as high as $200 within two years.
David Morris, vice-president of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, says that “biofuels are a very, very small factor in rising food costs.”
It’s time to quit giving OPEC a free ride on escalating food costs and start showing support for a domestic industry that is creating American jobs, feeding the world, and leading the way toward greater freedom from oil tyranny.
Sources:
“Is Ethanol Getting a Bum Rap?“ by John Carey, Business Week, May 1, 2008.
“Oil nears $123 on $200 oil prediction, supply concerns,” by John Wilen, AP, May 6, 2008.
“Food vs. fuel a global myth,” by Robert Zubrin and Gal Luft, Chicago Tribune, May 6, 2008.
