One quarter of US grain crops fed to cars - not people, new figures show

[Modbert]

Bringing you breaking news stories you may not see elsewhere as always. This one is surely interesting.

One quarter of US grain crops fed to cars - not people, new figures show | Environment | guardian.co.uk

One-quarter of all the maize and other grain crops grown in the US now ends up as biofuel in cars rather than being used to feed people, according to new analysis which suggests that the biofuel revolution launched by former President George Bush in 2007 is impacting on world food supplies.

The 2009 figures from the US Department of Agriculture shows ethanol production rising to record levels driven by farm subsidies and laws which require vehicles to use increasing amounts of biofuels.

The grain grown to produce fuel in the US [in 2009] was enough to feed 330 million people for one year at average world consumption levels," said Lester Brown, the director of the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington thinktank ithat conducted the analysis.

Last year 107m tonnes of grain, mostly corn, was grown by US farmers to be blended with petrol. This was nearly twice as much as in 2007, when Bush challenged farmers to increase production by 500% by 2017 to save cut oil imports and reduce carbon emissions.

More than 80 new ethanol plants have been built since then, with more expected by 2015, by which time the US will need to produce a further 5bn gallons of ethanol if it is to meet its renewable fuel standard.

According to Brown, the growing demand for US ethanol derived from grains helped to push world grain prices to record highs between late 2006 and 2008. In 2008, the Guardian revealed a secret World Bank report that concluded that the drive for biofuels by American and European governments had pushed up food prices by 75%, in stark contrast to US claims that prices had risen only 2-3% as a result.

Since then, the number of hungry people in the world has increased to over 1 billion people, according to the UN's World Food programme.

1 Billion people hungry worldwide, 75% increase in food prices due to biofuels and 25% of US Grain crops going to cars.

What the fuck.

Seriously? Has it come to this point? As I spoke about back during the 2008 election, the whole idea of Ethanol becoming a major contributor to alternative energy would result in more hunger, higher food prices. And it looks like I was dead on.

What are your thoughts USMB?

 

[Oddball]

When you recognize that the environmentalist whacko intelligentsia are closet eugenicists, it makes more sense.

 

[Xenophon]

Spot tillin and start drillin.

 

[uscitizen]

Bringing you breaking news stories you may not see elsewhere as always. This one is surely interesting.

One quarter of US grain crops fed to cars - not people, new figures show | Environment | guardian.co.uk

One-quarter of all the maize and other grain crops grown in the US now ends up as biofuel in cars rather than being used to feed people, according to new analysis which suggests that the biofuel revolution launched by former President George Bush in 2007 is impacting on world food supplies.

The 2009 figures from the US Department of Agriculture shows ethanol production rising to record levels driven by farm subsidies and laws which require vehicles to use increasing amounts of biofuels.

The grain grown to produce fuel in the US [in 2009] was enough to feed 330 million people for one year at average world consumption levels," said Lester Brown, the director of the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington thinktank ithat conducted the analysis.

Last year 107m tonnes of grain, mostly corn, was grown by US farmers to be blended with petrol. This was nearly twice as much as in 2007, when Bush challenged farmers to increase production by 500% by 2017 to save cut oil imports and reduce carbon emissions.

More than 80 new ethanol plants have been built since then, with more expected by 2015, by which time the US will need to produce a further 5bn gallons of ethanol if it is to meet its renewable fuel standard.

According to Brown, the growing demand for US ethanol derived from grains helped to push world grain prices to record highs between late 2006 and 2008. In 2008, the Guardian revealed a secret World Bank report that concluded that the drive for biofuels by American and European governments had pushed up food prices by 75%, in stark contrast to US claims that prices had risen only 2-3% as a result.

Since then, the number of hungry people in the world has increased to over 1 billion people, according to the UN's World Food programme.

1 Billion people hungry worldwide, 75% increase in food prices due to biofuels and 25% of US Grain crops going to cars.

What the fuck.

Seriously? Has it come to this point? As I spoke about back during the 2008 election, the whole idea of Ethanol becoming a major contributor to alternative energy would result in more hunger, higher food prices. And it looks like I was dead on.

What are your thoughts USMB?

Do you seriously think that the hungry of the world would get that corn if we did not use it for fuel?

It has reduced our oil imports by how much?

It has helped the rural economies of America by how much?

If we quit ethanol right now it would deepen our recession by how much?

 

[Modbert]

Do you seriously think that the hungry of the world would get that corn if we did not use it for fuel?

It's going somewhere. And least not into cars.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Bringing you breaking news stories you may not see elsewhere as always. This one is surely interesting.

One quarter of US grain crops fed to cars - not people, new figures show | Environment | guardian.co.uk

One-quarter of all the maize and other grain crops grown in the US now ends up as biofuel in cars rather than being used to feed people, according to new analysis which suggests that the biofuel revolution launched by former President George Bush in 2007 is impacting on world food supplies.

The 2009 figures from the US Department of Agriculture shows ethanol production rising to record levels driven by farm subsidies and laws which require vehicles to use increasing amounts of biofuels.

The grain grown to produce fuel in the US [in 2009] was enough to feed 330 million people for one year at average world consumption levels," said Lester Brown, the director of the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington thinktank ithat conducted the analysis.

Last year 107m tonnes of grain, mostly corn, was grown by US farmers to be blended with petrol. This was nearly twice as much as in 2007, when Bush challenged farmers to increase production by 500% by 2017 to save cut oil imports and reduce carbon emissions.

More than 80 new ethanol plants have been built since then, with more expected by 2015, by which time the US will need to produce a further 5bn gallons of ethanol if it is to meet its renewable fuel standard.

According to Brown, the growing demand for US ethanol derived from grains helped to push world grain prices to record highs between late 2006 and 2008. In 2008, the Guardian revealed a secret World Bank report that concluded that the drive for biofuels by American and European governments had pushed up food prices by 75%, in stark contrast to US claims that prices had risen only 2-3% as a result.

Since then, the number of hungry people in the world has increased to over 1 billion people, according to the UN's World Food programme.

1 Billion people hungry worldwide, 75% increase in food prices due to biofuels and 25% of US Grain crops going to cars.

What the fuck.

Seriously? Has it come to this point? As I spoke about back during the 2008 election, the whole idea of Ethanol becoming a major contributor to alternative energy would result in more hunger, higher food prices. And it looks like I was dead on.

What are your thoughts USMB?

Seriously, who keeps these sorts of things a secret from the left, that you guys are always announcing them as though they're big shockers? And when you all finally get on the same page as the rest of us, you want to find some way to blame the right for it.

It is not a news flash to those who've been keeping up that we've been pouring food that could be used to feed poor people into gas tanks to appease the enviro-wackos. And while I realize that you and your source would just LOVE to pin the blame on former President Bush, the truth is that it's not the right that's been pushing for insane environmental policies. You're welcome to blame politicians right of center for being unwilling to fight the trend and going along instead, but don't try to pretend that enviro-lunacy is an issue that belongs to us.

 

[uscitizen]

Do you seriously think that the hungry of the world would get that corn if we did not use it for fuel?

It's going somewhere. And least not into cars.

It would not get planted unless the price was there to cover the input costs and provide some profit.
And the price is there because of ethanol.

Or do you think farmers would raise corn at a loss to feed the world?
Who would pay for the corn to feed the hungry? Who would pay the shipping costs?

 

[RodISHI]

Actually Dogbert if you knew the players in this scam you would know that the majority of them that have been pushing this agenda are Dems and only a few Republicans in the mix but mostly Dems and the bankers are the ones taking the gains and of course the little guy took it in the shorts and the taxpayer paid for it at least twice with two different subsidies. Taxpayer dollars pay for biofuels subsidies and the original farm subsidies.

I link some of the information on biofuels here on USMB. If you are going to look at this look into the entirety of it not just the surface.

 

[Modbert]

Actually Dogbert if you knew the players in this scam you would know that the majority of them that have been pushing this agenda are Dems and only a few Republicans in the mix but mostly Dems and the bankers are the ones taking the gains and of course the little guy took it in the shorts and the taxpayer paid for it at least twice with two different subsidies. Taxpayer dollars pay for biofuels subsidies and the original farm subsidies.

I link some of the information on biofuels here on USMB. If you are going to look at this look into the entirety of it not just the surface.

Again, this is not about partisan politics. The facts in the article are that. Can we go one thread people without making this partisan hackery?

 

[Modbert]

It would not get planted unless the price was there to cover the input costs and provide some profit.
And the price is there because of ethanol.

Or do you think farmers would raise corn at a loss to feed the world?
Who would pay for the corn to feed the hungry? Who would pay the shipping costs?

Except there are some countries who want to buy grain and cannot due to shortages.

 

[uscitizen]

Actually Dogbert if you knew the players in this scam you would know that the majority of them that have been pushing this agenda are Dems and only a few Republicans in the mix but mostly Dems and the bankers are the ones taking the gains and of course the little guy took it in the shorts and the taxpayer paid for it at least twice with two different subsidies. Taxpayer dollars pay for biofuels subsidies and the original farm subsidies.

I link some of the information on biofuels here on USMB. If you are going to look at this look into the entirety of it not just the surface.

all the legislators and such that represent corn producing states are supporting ethanol.

And most of those are red states.

suprised? duhhh

 

[Oddball]

Actually Dogbert if you knew the players in this scam you would know that the majority of them that have been pushing this agenda are Dems and only a few Republicans in the mix but mostly Dems and the bankers are the ones taking the gains and of course the little guy took it in the shorts and the taxpayer paid for it at least twice with two different subsidies. Taxpayer dollars pay for biofuels subsidies and the original farm subsidies.

I link some of the information on biofuels here on USMB. If you are going to look at this look into the entirety of it not just the surface.

Again, this is not about partisan politics. The facts in the article are that. Can we go one thread people without making this partisan hackery?

I didn't.

Eugenicists are nasty evil people, who transcend normal politics.

 

[Modbert]

I didn't.

Eugenicists are nasty evil people, who transcend normal politics.

Didn't say you. I'm saying the people who make this about Liberal vs. Conservative when it's not.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

Do you seriously think that the hungry of the world would get that corn if we did not use it for fuel?

It's going somewhere. And least not into cars.

It is a goofy subsidy, but if it were not going to cars, it would not be grown, because the hungry don't produce the cash that it would cost to produce it.

And as dumb as it is, I would rather the money was going to US farmers than to Middle East Despots.

 

[uscitizen]

It would not get planted unless the price was there to cover the input costs and provide some profit.
And the price is there because of ethanol.

Or do you think farmers would raise corn at a loss to feed the world?
Who would pay for the corn to feed the hungry? Who would pay the shipping costs?

Except there are some countries who want to buy grain and cannot due to shortages.

I know farmers who are sitting on last years crop of corn and part of the prior years just because the price went down.
There is corn available for anyone to buy if they pay the price.

Check the stats on corn production in the USA prior to ethanol and up till now.
You will see the production numbers jumped with ethanol demand.
Farmers are not charity organizations.

 

[Annie]

Bringing you breaking news stories you may not see elsewhere as always. This one is surely interesting.

One quarter of US grain crops fed to cars - not people, new figures show | Environment | guardian.co.uk

One-quarter of all the maize and other grain crops grown in the US now ends up as biofuel in cars rather than being used to feed people, according to new analysis which suggests that the biofuel revolution launched by former President George Bush in 2007 is impacting on world food supplies.

The 2009 figures from the US Department of Agriculture shows ethanol production rising to record levels driven by farm subsidies and laws which require vehicles to use increasing amounts of biofuels.

The grain grown to produce fuel in the US [in 2009] was enough to feed 330 million people for one year at average world consumption levels," said Lester Brown, the director of the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington thinktank ithat conducted the analysis.

Last year 107m tonnes of grain, mostly corn, was grown by US farmers to be blended with petrol. This was nearly twice as much as in 2007, when Bush challenged farmers to increase production by 500% by 2017 to save cut oil imports and reduce carbon emissions.

More than 80 new ethanol plants have been built since then, with more expected by 2015, by which time the US will need to produce a further 5bn gallons of ethanol if it is to meet its renewable fuel standard.

According to Brown, the growing demand for US ethanol derived from grains helped to push world grain prices to record highs between late 2006 and 2008. In 2008, the Guardian revealed a secret World Bank report that concluded that the drive for biofuels by American and European governments had pushed up food prices by 75%, in stark contrast to US claims that prices had risen only 2-3% as a result.

Since then, the number of hungry people in the world has increased to over 1 billion people, according to the UN's World Food programme.

1 Billion people hungry worldwide, 75% increase in food prices due to biofuels and 25% of US Grain crops going to cars.

What the fuck.

Seriously? Has it come to this point? As I spoke about back during the 2008 election, the whole idea of Ethanol becoming a major contributor to alternative energy would result in more hunger, higher food prices. And it looks like I was dead on.

What are your thoughts USMB?

No shit, Sherlock. Some of us have been pointing this out for years. However, Obama is from Illinois, a corn/soy state. Like most politicos he knows how to get votes. Damn, would this mean he cares more about votes than 'best for the world?' Yeah.

 

[Oddball]

It would not get planted unless the price was there to cover the input costs and provide some profit.
And the price is there because of ethanol.

Or do you think farmers would raise corn at a loss to feed the world?
Who would pay for the corn to feed the hungry? Who would pay the shipping costs?

Except there are some countries who want to buy grain and cannot due to shortages.

Some poorer nations that want to sell grain and are precluded from doing so by outside protectionism and subsidies.

 

[Modbert]

I know farmers who are sitting on last years crop of corn and part of the prior years just because the price went down.
There is corn available for anyone to buy if they pay the price.

Check the stats on corn production in the USA prior to ethanol and up till now.
You will see the production numbers jumped with ethanol demand.
Farmers are not charity organizations.

Well the situation of stock must of changed from since when I last reexamined it. And of course production is going to be up. And I'm not saying farmers should be charity organizations either.

 

[uscitizen]

I know farmers who are sitting on last years crop of corn and part of the prior years just because the price went down.
There is corn available for anyone to buy if they pay the price.

Check the stats on corn production in the USA prior to ethanol and up till now.
You will see the production numbers jumped with ethanol demand.
Farmers are not charity organizations.

Well the situation of stock must of changed from since when I last reexamined it. And of course production is going to be up. And I'm not saying farmers should be charity organizations either.

I am pretty sure our unused/unsold stockpiles of corn is very high right now.
The farmers I know of are sitting on tens of thousands of bushels. And I only know about 3 fairly small corn farmers. One just put up 2 large storage bins just to store his corn in. And he has been raising corn for years and selling it without storing it.

Check it out if you do not believe what I am saying.
This is non partisan and just the facts as I understand them.
Please correct me if I am wrong, but provide proof please, not opinions.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

Actually Dogbert if you knew the players in this scam you would know that the majority of them that have been pushing this agenda are Dems and only a few Republicans in the mix but mostly Dems and the bankers are the ones taking the gains and of course the little guy took it in the shorts and the taxpayer paid for it at least twice with two different subsidies. Taxpayer dollars pay for biofuels subsidies and the original farm subsidies.

I link some of the information on biofuels here on USMB. If you are going to look at this look into the entirety of it not just the surface.

No, both sides support ethanol subsidies, because both sides want to win in rural states.