Monday, March 31, 2008

March 2008 Food and Fuel America.com Articles

March 2008
Food and Fuel America
Good and Balanced Food and Fuel News!

Be sure to check out these articles which appeared during the month of March2008 on Food and Fuel America.com:
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Reaction to Time's Hit Piece

Time Inc CNN Ethanol Food Fuel Time Magazine's cover article this week is provoking a lot of discussion of the net. The latest comes from Harold Wimmer of the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest in an email sent to media and bloggers this morning:
Michael Grunwell’s sweeping indictment of the biofuels movement in “The Clean Energy Scam” was the most stunning piece of misinformation I have seen published in a major news outlet. The article laid the blame for everything from destabilization in Pakistan to deforestation in Brazil at the feet of biofuel. Astonishingly, Grunwell did not quote a single supporter of the cleaner-burning fuel in the cover article! The simple facts are these:
  • There is a clear scientific consensus that vehicles using E85 or biodiesel emit significantly less air pollution than those using traditional fuels.
  • A typical E85 user prevents 4 tons of lifecycle carbon dioxide (CO2) and other harmful pollutants from entering our air every year.
  • The National Renewable Energy Laboratory reports that biodiesel (B100) use reduces lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions by 78%.
Space does not allow for me to point out the many errors in fact, rampant speculation, and use of discredited data and opinion contained in Grunswell’s article – I’m sure others will step up to that task. Let me just say that the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest remains a strong supporter of cleaner-burning biofuels such as E85 and biodiesel, and we reject its unfair labeling as a “scam.”

Harold Wimmer,
CEO
American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest
SPRINGFIED, IL
Source: American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest

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Oil Execs To Testify to Congress

House Committee Energy Independence Global Warming TestimonyTop oil execs are in for a drilling of their own as they answer questions concerning high oil and gas prices, excess profits, and resistance to alternative fuels before a committee of the US House of Representatives.

This Tuesday, April 1, Chairman Edward J. Markey, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, will bring top-level executives from the five largest oil companies to discuss the current state of oil and gas prices, oil company profits, and the need for clean, renewable fuels to ease demand for oil and cut global warming pollution.

This might not be very enjoyable for the oil execs. The Committee is promoting the testimony with the following welcoming message:Oil Executives testimony Congress see speak hear no evil
ExxonMobil reported record profits of $40.6 billion in 2007, and the other top four oil companies like BP and Shell made billions more.

These same companies are fighting to keep $18 billion in
tax breaks that Congress is attempting to shift towards renewable energy incentives for wind, solar, biomass and other climate-friendly sources.

The House recently passed the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008, but President Bush and the top oil companies are fighting to defeat the measure in the Senate.

Those who have been invited before the committee will have a lot of explaining to do given the tax breaks the industry enjoys, the oil industry resistance to renewable fuels and how higher energy costs are crippling the American economy.
  • Mr. J. Stephen Simon, Senior Vice President, Exxon Mobil Corp.
  • Mr. John Hofmeister, President, Shell Oil Company
  • Mr. Robert A. Malone, Chairman and President, BP America, Inc.
  • Mr. Peter Robertson, Vice Chairman, Chevron
  • Mr. John Lowe, Executive Vice President, ConocoPhillips
Expect to see and hear a lot spin from the American Petroleum Institute and the rest of the oil industry this week.

But we'll have more information after the testimony as well to present a more balanced view.

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Sunday, March 30, 2008

Indiana Offers Grants for E85 Pumps

Indiana Governor Mitchell Daniels signed state senate bill 360 into law this week.

The new legislation offers grants up to $20,000 for qualified stations to install E85 ethanol pumps.

With more motorists looking to switch to the cleaner-burning American-grown-grown fuel, more E85 fueling pumps are needed across America.

Indiana touts itself as a leader in ethanol and renewable fuels and this new legislation will make E85 more widely available within the state.

Motorists can find local E85 stations by using the Food and Fuel America site HERE. In addition, consumers can check if they have a Flex Fuel Vehicle (FFV) that can use E85 by checking our site info HERE.

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Food and Fuel Quiz, March 30, 2008

food vs fuel debateFood and Fuel in The News
Weekly Trivia Quiz, March 30, 2008

How good are you at Food and Fuel trivia for the week? Try our new weekly trivia quiz. Answers and scoring below the questions. Post your scores in the comments. Good luck!

1. According the American Farm Bureau, gas would cost how much more per gallon if there was no ethanol? a) No cost difference b) 1 cent c) 5 to 10 cents more

2. Truckers fed up with the high price of diesel threaten to do what to show there anger at the higher prices?

3. Diesel prices increased about how much from a year ago?

4. Which famous university, the academic home of ethanol-critic Dr. Pimentel, is building a $6 million biofuels laboratory?

5. If oil stays around $100 per barrel and refiners cut their production runs to increase their margins, the Consumer Federation of America says that consumers could see gasoline increase how much more a gallon in the coming weeks before the Memorial holiday weekend? a) 5 cents b) 25 cents c) 75 cents?

6. In a new report, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory says that municipal solid waste can be turned into biofuels. True or False.

7. New research by Kansas State University show what relationship between and E. coli and Dried Distillers Grains? a) A huge, "Oh My God We're All Doomed" link b) somewhat of a link c) no link

8. Tyson Foods CEO Richard Bond blames ethanol for food cost woes. What two impacts does he fail to adequately address in his rant?

9. How many pounds of corn are in a bushel?

10. The goal of the 25 by '25 is to produce how much energy (%) from wind, solar, and biofuel energy by the year 2025?

SCORE

Earn 10 points for each correct answer.

100 points : Food and Fuel Champ
80-90 points : Great! Keep it up.
60-70 points : Good, but you can do better.
10 - 50 points : Need to visit the site more often
0 points : Are you working for Big Oil?

ANSWERS

1. c) 5 to 10 cents more
2. strike
3. $1.31 a gallon
4. Cornell
5. 75 cents more per gallon
6. True
7. c) no link
8. demand and energy costs
9. 56 pounds
10. 25% from wind, solar, biofuels by the year 2025

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Saturday, March 29, 2008

Tyson CEO Rants

Tyson Foods CEO Richard Bond Food vs FuelTyson Foods , Inc. CEO Richard Bond recently again publicly lashed out against corn ethanol. Bond was videoed speaking to employees at a plant in Shelbyville, Tennessee (YouTube video) where he came out swinging against the American-grown fuel.

In his own self-described "rant", Bond blames corn ethanol for higher food costs. But he fails to mention the real facts, instead focusing only on the price of corn and not its limited impact on final consumer food prices. Nor does he fully discuss the major impact of increased world-wide demand for grains and meats and higher energy costs.

So let's help Mr. Bond with the math. A bushel of corn is 56 pounds. A one dollar change in corn price is .017 cents per pound (1 / 56) of corn. We already know that to produce 1 pound of chicken takes just 2 pounds of corn, so that's 3.5 cents per pound change per dollar increase in corn cost. And that's pretty much the worse case scenario because it assumes that only the higher priced corn is used and that all of the cost is passed along to the consumers.

The huge increases in meat prices are coming from somewhere else. Mr. Bond fails to mention that. He does briefly discuss increased foreign demand. But somehow that doesn't factor into his spiel. It's just ethanol that is bad bad bad. Higher transportation costs and energy to fuel his plants and to market his products? Must not be a big deal at all.

We took a quick look around the net to see what else might be bothering Mr. Bond. Now we know why he's in such a grumpy mood. Maybe some of Tyson Foods other recent woes are really on his mind while he rants:
  • Tyson closes plant after consumers no long demand Tyson's product
    Tyson is laying off 400 employees and closing its Wilkesboro NC chicken plant because consumers no longer want to buy cold chicken.
  • Tyson Lays Off 1,800 Due to High Transportation Costs
    Interesting that Bond doesn't mention this in his rants and raves. Must have slipped his mind. Tyson closes an Emporia, KS beef facility and blames it on higher transportation costs. A group of disgruntled employees came to visit the CEO at their headquarters but were only able to meet with lower-level management.
  • Tyson Dumps Sewage
    A Tyson facility was cited by Tennessee government for discharges into Duck river above allowable levels. Why didn't they connect to the city sewer? Apparently, money, money money (see article).
  • Donning and Doffing at Tyson
    Employees at Tyson are suing the company and ask for class-action claiming they were not paid for all hours worked.
  • Also the Des Moines Register covered the story of cheating their employees with the amazingly direct title, "Tyson Foods Cuts Corners on Pay"
  • Tyson Told to Reduce Water Usage
    Chicken processors were warned at a recent conference that they need to reduce their "water footprint". Apparently, chicken processing uses a WHOLE LOT OF WATER. Who knew?
  • Tyson Driving Smaller US Companies Out of Business
    As large food companies become even larger, they're driving small US companies and producers out of business while importing foreign food.
  • Tyson's Chicken Waste Spreading into Rivers
    A federal judge is considering whether to ban large chicken processors like Tyson's from spreading their chicken waste so that it can run off into rivers and into the water supply. Again, who knew?
  • Tyson Food has PETA as a New Owner
    PETA has become an owner in Tyson Foods and other large food companies. As a shareholder, PETA plans to submit resolutions requiring less cruel slaughtering of poultry. Now this fact alone could make any CEO a bit grumpy!
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Friday, March 28, 2008

New Research Shows No E. Coli Link

Kansas State University research beef dried distillers grains E. coliRemember all of the hoopla a few months ago that ethanol somehow caused E. coli in beef?

Well a new study (pdf) produced by the same researchers at Kansas State University shows no correlation between feeding distillers dried grains (DDGs) and E. coli.

The key finding is this report is pretty clear:
"Unlike our previous studies, we found no evidence to indicate that dietary inclusion of distiller’s grains or corn processing methods have a significant effect on the prevalence E. coli O157 or Salmonella in cattle feces."
Apparently, good news doesn't sell papers or more commercials so this new finding isn't getting much attention in the media. Imagine that.

The report was funded by the Kansas Beef Council and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

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Thursday, March 27, 2008

Trash Can Fuel the Northwest

municipal solid waste biofuelsCan the future of fuel be full of trash? It might just be.

Non-traditional resources and new conversion technologies are critical to expanding the biofuels industry. And a new report shows that innovative sources can lead the way.

This is the message issued by the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory that says the Northwest can have a sizeable biofuels industry based primarily on local resources -- if non-traditional feedstocks, such as municipal waste, and new conversion technologies are used.

According to the report, Biofuels in Oregon and Washington: A Business Case Analysis of Opportunities and Challenges (pdf), it will be difficult for the Northwest to create a significant biofuels industry based only on today's land use practices using currently available agricultural and forestry resources.

But if municipal solid waste is used in conjunction with these existing resources, the region can produce 10 to 15 percent of its transportation fuel from indigenous resources. An even larger industry can be created with new land use practices and the identification of new energy crops.
"With a growing demand for transportation fuels and constrained petroleum supplies, there is a growing need for a significant biofuels industry in the Northwest and across the country," said Mike Davis, who leads PNNL's Energy and Environment Directorate.
Municipal solid waste is one source for our future fuel. In 2004, Oregon and Washington residents generated 8.2 lbs and 7.5 lbs per person per day respectively. According to the report, the organic fraction of the waste constitutes 70 percent of the region's currently available biomass.

Source: Pacific Northwest Laboratory

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Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Consumers Face Soaring Gasoline Prices

consumer federation america high gas pricesAmerica’s gasoline consumers continue to face escalating prices at the pump according to a new report released today by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).
“For half a decade the major oil companies have exercised their market power,” said Dr. Mark Cooper, research director of CFA and author of the report. “In response to record high prices, consumers are cutting their consumption and lower priced alternatives, like ethanol are expanding supplies. But these market responses are being counteracted by high crude prices driven up by speculators and reduced oil company refinery runs.”
Entitled “Rising Gasoline Prices: Why Can’t Consumers Catch a Break, (pdf)” the report examines the key strategies used by major U.S. oil refiners to create tight markets in the past decade. UPDATED: You can watch the press conference at C-SPAN HERE.

According to the report:
  • If oil stays around $100 per barrel and refiners cut their production runs to increase their margins, consumers could see gasoline increase as much as $0.75 per gallon or more in the coming weeks before the Memorial holiday weekend.
  • Contrary to the past several years, there is plenty of gasoline available, demand has fallen, and increased amounts of less expensive ethanol is being blended into more than 60 percent of the nation’s gasoline.
  • Refiners, in an effort to pass through higher crude costs and increase their margins (and profits) are extending maintenance operations and cutting refining runs to reduce the gasoline surplus.
  • Since 2002, oil companies have earned excessive profits, above the normal return on equity earned by all manufacturing, of over $190 billion in after tax dollars.
  • The Federal Trade Commission and others have documented oil industry efforts to consolidate the market and cut excess capacity which keeps gasoline supplies tight and prices high.
  • The recent modest decline in crude oil prices is not likely to bring relief to consumers if oil refiners succeed in cutting gasoline production.
“It is critical for policy makers to shine a spotlight on the industry so it does not cut back on refinery runs to tighten the market,” Cooper concluded, “and they need to ensure that the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act” is implemented vigorously since it emphasized the two key long-term elements that can help consumers escape from the grip of both the domestic refining oligopoly and the crude oil cartel – expansion of alternative fuels and reduction of demand through increased fuel economy.”

Source: Consumer Federation of America

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Cornell Builds New Biofuels Research Lab

Cornell University biofuels research PimentelA new state-of-the art Biofuels Research Laboratory is being built at Cornell University.

Interestingly, Cornell is the home of one of the fiercest critics of ethanol, Dr. David Pimentel.

The $6 million lab is being constructed from a $10 million grant awarded to Larry Walker, Cornell professor of biological and environmental engineering, from the Empire State Development Corp.

The new lab will be shared by faculty and students across campus. Faculty members expected to work in the laboratories include Larry Walker, Beth Ahner, Norm Scott, David Wilson, Jim Gossett, Susan Henry, Harold Craighead and others involved in the biofuels research program at Cornell.

Biofuels research at Cornell is primarily supported by a $750,000 NYSTAR grant for biofuels research received in 2005, in addition to some monies from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Source: Cornell University

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Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Truckers Threaten Strike Over High Diesel Prices

diesel prices trucker strikeTruckers are blowing more than their horns over the higher price of diesel.

This week the average diesel price is $3.989 which is up $1.313 since last year.

According to various media reports, independent truckers are considering a strike the first week of April to show their concern over the skyrocketing price of diesel.


Source: Department of Energy


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Monday, March 24, 2008

Ethanol Saves Money

25x'25 corn ethanol food vs fuelHigher gas prices are squeezing Americans motorists. But they'd be feeling even more pain if ethanol was not helping to boost the fuel supply.

According to Farm Bureau Federation senior economist Terry Francl, gas would cost 5 to 10 cents more per gallon if it was not blended with the corn-based fuel.

Francl also said that consumers and taxpayers are saving $7 billion to $14 billion in gas costs as a result of increased ethanol use.

Higher oil costs have increased gasoline 70 cents per gallon prices over the past year. And oil companies have been quick to shift the blame to farmers and ethanol.
“It’s easy to say the growth of the ethanol industry is leading to higher fuel and food prices, but that’s just not the case. Complex and overlapping issues that developed over several years are at play, and the growing use of ethanol actually helps keep gas prices from going even higher.”
Francl made these points at the National 25 x '25 Renewable Energy Summit earlier this month.

"25x'25" is a rallying cry for renewable energy and a goal for America – to get 25 percent of our energy from renewable resources like wind, solar, and biofuels by the year 2025.

Source: 25x'25, American Farm Bureau Federation

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Sunday, March 23, 2008

Corny Easter: GrandMa Cornelia's Cheddar Corn Casserole

Easter Egg Cantaloupe Recall Glazed Ham CornHappy Easter 2008

We're busy hiding the Easter eggs this morning. But not before preparing some corn-fed glazed ham and GrandMa Cornelia's world-famous Cheddar Corn Casserole.

GrandMa Cornelia's Easter Cheddar Corn Casserole

Ingredients

  • 1 (11 oz) can drained whole kernel corn
  • 1 (11 oz) can cream style corn
  • 1 (8 oz) container sour cream
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 (8.5 oz) package dry corn bread mix
  • 1 small diced onion
  • 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Directions
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Grease a 9x13 inch baking/casserole dish.
  • Combine corn, sour cream, egg, dry corn bread mix, onion and 3/4 cup of Cheddar cheese.
  • Mix well and pour into prepared dish.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
  • Bake for another 15-20 minutes.
  • Serves 12
And always practice safe food handling in the kitchen. With recent food safety scares, including today's cantaloupe recall, consumers can minimize contamination at home by following the tips from the Centers for Disease Control HERE.

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Food and Fuel Trivia Quiz, March 23, 2008

food vs fuel debate cantaloupe recallFood and Fuel in The News
Weekly Trivia Quiz, March 23, 2008

How good are you at Food and Fuel trivia for the week? Try our new weekly trivia quiz. Answers and scoring below the questions. Post your scores in the comments. Good luck!

1. Who blamed the American Petroleum Institute (API) for the Food and Fuel debate?

2. After increasing prices higher, which giant food company's profits soared 61%?

3. This week, are gas prices a) 20 cents, b) 50 cents or c) 70 cents HIGHER than last year?

4. Big Oil's trade group spent how much lobbying the federal govt. in 2007? a) $1 million b) $3 million c) $4 million?

5. The Labor department released the PPI inflation numbers this week. How high did energy prices increase?

6. What % of an orange is left over from making orange juice and is available for "oranges to ethanol"?

7. When will Americans start receiving their "Gas Rebate" checks to stimulate the economy?

8. Food maker giants argue they should do what about food safety scares? a) do nothing b) react c) not overreact?

9. How many Americans in agriculture support 301 million Americans?

10. Which ethanol critic now appears to state that ethanol is net positive for fossil fuel energy? a) Lester Brown b) C. Ford Runge c) David Pimentel?

SCORE

Earn 10 points for each correct answer.

100 points : Food and Fuel Champ
80-90 points : Great! Keep it up.
60-70 points : Good, but you can do better.
10 - 50 points : Need to visit the site more often
0 points : Are you working for Big Oil?

ANSWERS

1. Vinod Khosla
2. General Mills
3. c) 70 cents
4. c) $4 million
5. .8 %
6. 50%
7. May 2008
8. c) not overreact
9. 21 million
10. c) David Pimentel

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Saturday, March 22, 2008

Gas Rebate Checks Coming Soon

IRS Internal Revenue Service Rebate Refund Check TaxGet ready America, your Gasoline Rebate checks will be coming in the mail soon.

Under legislation enacted by the Bush administration and a bi-partisan Congress, 130 million American households will soon be receiving rebate checks to stimulate the economy.

Ranging in value from $300 to $600 a person, the checks are meant to put money back into the average Americans' pockets to spend. Checks are expected to be mailed starting in May, 2008.

But guess what? These checks going into the left-pocket won't even cover the money that higher priced oil is taking out of the right-pocket this year alone at the pump!

Gas prices last year averaged 65 cents more per gallon than the year before. And this year with $100 a barrel crude oil prices climbing even higher, this year's damage will be even more painful.

Sadly, the checks won't even cover the cost of higher priced gasoline during the year.
Filling up with 18 gallons of gasoline each week at 70 cents a gallon more per gallon for 52 weeks will set back each driver $655. (18 * .70 * 52)
As the higher costs of energy also spreads to many other items in the economy, including food and consumer goods, the checks will be painfully short to cover all of the increases.

But Good ol' Uncle Sam will borrow the $150 billion, most likely from foreign banks, to pay Americans so they can buy higher priced foreign oil!

Source: Internal Revenue Service

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Friday, March 21, 2008

Baking Up Bad Ideas

baker bread what Band of BakersThe American Bakers Association recently led a march on DC to complain to Congress to limit support for renewable fuels. Among their demands (pdf), they want Congress to repeal the existing tariff on imported ethanol and to waive the ethanol production limits.

We think these are really bad, half-baked ideas.

The bakers have jumped on the anti-ethanol bandwagon as a scapegoat for their woes. In reality, the wheat issue has many factors and has been long coming. Increased world-wide demand, a major drought in Australia, higher energy and marketing costs are the most immediate causes for higher wheat and retail food prices. And many have noted that the bakers haven't embraced modern technology to increase yields as other crops have done.

But what about all of those wheat acres taken away to grow corn for ethanol?

If you were to believe the bakers, that is what you'd think. In an interview with a MN television station, one of the marching "Band of Bakers", Lynn Schurman, president-elect of the Retail Bakers of America, made this same very, unfounded claim:
"Right now less acreage is going into wheat because more people are growing corn and providing corn for the ethanol market," she says.
But the facts are more clear. The 2007 wheat plantings AND harvested bushels were up. So exactly what acres are they talking about?

Wheat Planted Acres

2007 - 60,433,000 acres
2006 - 57,344,000 acres
2005 - 57,229,000 acres

Wheat Harvested

2007 - 2,104,690 (1,000 bushels)
2006 - 1,812,036 (1,000 bushels)
2005 - 2,066,722 (1,000 bushels)

The tariff on imported ethanol limits some but not all imported ethanol. Before the tariff is eliminated, the existing import limits should be met. Of course, the oil companies would love to have the American renewable fuel industry scraping by for them to pick up the pieces.

And limiting the renewable fuel standard, is really Big Oil's prize. With oil and gasoline prices up, less ethanol means more profits.

Source: USDA

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Farmers Shouldn't Pay for Bakers' Poor Vision

For years, the domestic milling and baking industry and its leadership have pursued policies that growers warned would create wheat shortages. This year, the chickens have come home to roost, and the bakers are scared they won't have the wheat they need.

Now, the bakers have asked the government to bail them out at the expense of U.S. wheat producers. They want Congress and the Department of Agriculture to halt exports of U.S. wheat. And, they want fragile land currently set aside in conservation reserve to be released in the expectation that farmers will grow more wheat on it.

Some people believe the wheat shortage is a result of farmers being seduced by high corn prices because of ethanol. The truth is, U.S. wheat farmers began converting to other crops long before the ethanol push began. Harvested wheat acres dropped from a high of 80 million in 1982 to about 63 million a decade later to about 47 million last year.

The reason for the decline is simple: The milling and baking industry always demanded top quality at prices that many times were below the cost to produce it. It simply was no longer profitable to grow wheat on our acreage when we could grow other crops that brought a better return.

Current market oriented federal farm policy lets farmers make planting decisions based on market demand and sound agronomic principles, as it should.

Not only was the industry unyielding on price and quality demands, but also bakers have stood against wheat farmers in their pursuit of productivity enhancing products such as biotechnology and higher yield wheat varieties. In fact, when wheat farmers were provided herbicide tolerant wheat, a perfectly safe technology used in other crops for more than a decade, the bakers refused to accept the wheat.

Even though the technology would have increased yields by 10 percent and lowered production costs, the bakers suggested that there was no benefit for them or consumers. I believe most consumers would argue that having a ready supply of affordable grain for their daily bread is definitely a benefit.

As an editorial in the baking industry's foremost trade journal pointed out, biotechnology has let other crops move ahead at the expense of wheat. For example, corn yields have increased 12 percent from the start of the decade, while wheat yields have remained virtually unchanged for 10 years.

In addition to higher yields, a major study in 2005 showed dramatic drops in production costs for growers who planted biotech crops.

So it's no surprise that astute farmers are committing their acres to crops that put more money in their pockets. Wheat producers tried to make that case when bakers were adamant that there should be no biotechnology in wheat.

Now the bakers want to further punish the remaining wheat farmers by ending exports and denying growers the markets necessary to keep growing wheat.

Rather than yielding to the bakers' demands, Washington should lay down a strong lecture on the merits of teamwork to ensure enough grain for customers everywhere.

Courtesy of Allan Skogen, a wheat producer from central North Dakota. Skogen is also chairman of Growers for Biotechnology
www.growersforbiotechnology.org.

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Pimentel Pumps Up Ethanol

Monarch butterfly David PimentelDavid Pimentel, a Professor of Insect Ecology at Cornell and a long time critic of ethanol, appears to have finally admitted that ethanol has a positive return of fossil fuel investment.

In a widely published commentary this week, Pimentel brought out his tired and dated laundry list of reasons why he thinks ethanol will never work. His usual argument is that it takes more energy to make ethanol than it produces.

But surprisingly, in this new piece he came to a new conclusion.

As first noted by Nathanael Greene at the NRDC, his latest diatribe contained this gem:

"Cornell University's up-to-date analysis of the 14 energy inputs that go into corn production, plus the nine energy inputs invested in ethanol fermentation and distillation, confirms that more than 40 percent of the energy contained in one gallon of corn ethanol is expended to produce it."

As Nathanael rightly points out: That implies that the return on fossil fuel investment is about 2.5 (100%/40%).

Pimentel's usual out-of-date data, flawed analysis and politically-driven conclusions have been soundly debunked and are widely dismissed.

But we're certainly interested to see how this new admission plays out with his anti-ethanol friends.

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