Food and Fuel America.com: Big Food

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Friday, August 7, 2009

GAO Report Shows Food Prices Increased Higher than Farm Prices

GAO Government Accounting Office Higher Food Prices

A new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that supermarket prices for food have climbed by 128 percent since 1982 – four times the increase in crop prices for farmers.

The new GAO report found that since 1982, farmers have generally received higher monthly prices for their commodities, but these prices have increased less than food prices and inflation in the broader economy.

So exactly how does ethanol lead to higher food prices?

It doesn't.

As we've long said here, consumer food prices are largely driven by costs after the farm costs---labor, energy, transportations, marketing AND profits.

And a Senate committee found earlier this summer that recent higher commodity costs were driven by speculators. Again, not by ethanol policy or farmers.

But the Grocery Manufacturers Association continues to stir up hatred for the renewable fuel.

Big Food companies like Kraft Foods continue to record record high profits.

All thanks to their higher food prices and "let's blame the farmers" strategy.

Source: Government Accounting Office (pdf)

READ MORE
Big Food Fight Finally Featured
Senator Grassley Responds to Ethanol Smear Campaign
Campbell Soup is Hmm Hmm Wrong
Big Food's Big Dividend
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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Begun This Burrito War Has

Even Jedi master Yoda knows when to stay quiet.

Apparently, Chipotle hasn't had that Jedi PR lesson yet.

And so the Burrito War has begun.

Chipotle restaurants recently ran a promotion for the anti-ag film, Food Inc. It's a slanted film that ignores the reality of a growing and hungry world. We'll have a full review soon on our site.

Chipotle wanted to appear all green and sustainable so they sponsored free screenings of the movie around the country.

Yeah for the giant food chain who promotes reduced food and unsustainable food production for the USA and the world. Can't we all just have a few chickens and pigs in our backyward to feed ourselves? Or better yet, just only eat vegetable we can grow ourselves?

But there's at least one group who takes issue with the company's current purchasing practices.

The Coalition for Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a community-based organization of mainly Latino, Mayan Indian and Haitian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida.

They're wondering why Chipotle is ignoring the plight of farm workers. In a recent letter to Chipotle's CEO, Steve Ellis, CIW wrote:

We view the CIW’s struggle for dignity as a non-negotiable part of the struggle for a sustainable food system. Therefore, we strongly urge you to enter into an agreement with this worker-led organization that has been fighting tirelessly to improve conditions in tomato country since 1993. As you know, the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange has acted to block the penny-per-pound raise agreed to by McDonald's, Yum Brands, Burger King and others, by threatening to fine any grower who cooperates with the buyers and the CIW. The extra penny paid out by these companies now sits in an escrow account, and workers in the fields continue making the same dismal wage. The growers clearly fear the power tomato pickers have galvanized through the efforts of the CIW and Chipotle's refusal to sign an agreement with the CIW only bolsters the growers’ intransigence.

And they've decided to crash Chipotle's PR Burrito party. Check out their online update HERE.

We guess the "Farce" is with Chipotle!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Senate Finds Cause for Higher Food Prices

Did your pizza and PB&J sandwich really cost more because of ethanol?

No.

A US Senate subcommittee, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations headed by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), has released a report finding that market speculation led to rising commodity prices last year.

Despite Big Food's attempt to blame rising food costs on corn ethanol, this new report confirms the cause for the rapid increase in the price of wheat. Followers of the food and fuel issue will recall that Big Food and the media falsely blamed rising wheat prices on corn ethanol. Campbell Soup's CEO was one of the food leaders who made this wild claim that was widely reported. (Read our rebuttal HERE)

The new report found that commodity traders bought up more than 200,000 wheat contracts by mid-2008 that fueled the record jump in prices which caused the rapid food prices for consumers.

The report found that large wheat purchases on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) drove up futures prices, disrupted the normal relationship between futures prices and cash prices for wheat, and caused farmers, grain elevators, grain processors, consumers, and others to experience significant unwarranted costs and price risks.

"It is another case of speculative money overwhelming a market, and federal regulators failing to take the steps needed to protect the market," said Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Prices for most commodities soared to historic highs during the mid 2008. And the price of wheat soared to a high of $13.34 a bushel.

“The bottom line,” said Levin, “is that excessive speculation in commodity indexes has created losers throughout the wheat industry, from wheat farmers to grain elevators, grain merchants, grain processors, and grain users like bakeries and cereal companies. Those groups can’t manage their price risks through hedging, and are socked with unwarranted costs from higher margin calls and failed hedges. When those costs are passed onto consumers, the result is higher food prices.”

This report was issued earlier this week, and of course, has had little coverage by the media. But we didn't really expect to see much because it doesn't fuel the story they've already set in place.

Source: Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations

READ MORE
Big Food Fight Finally Featured
Senator Grassley Responds to Ethanol Smear Campaign
Campbell Soup is Hmm Hmm Wrong
Big Food's Big Dividend

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Sunday, June 21, 2009

Big Food's Big Dividends

Big Lies are paying off for the Big Food companies.

Last year Big Food companies like Kraft Foods launched an all-out attack against biofuels. Through the Grocery Manufactures Association, the food industry leaders hired well-placed DC lobbyists and public relations firms to spew falsely that corn for ethanol was the major factor in food price increases.

And the major media just ate it all up: It must be ethanol that causes higher food prices.

We of course know the truth---corn for ethanol represents just a small part of most consumer food costs. Energy, packaging, marketing, transportation, labor and profits represent the major price components for consumer foods.

And a recent Congressional Budget Office study confirmed that ethanol production played only a small role in food price increases:

CBO estimates that from April 2007 to April 2008, the rise in the price of corn resulting from expanded pro-duction of ethanol contributed between 0.5 and 0.8 per-centage points of the 5.1 percent increase in food pricesmeasured by the consumer price index (CPI). Over the same period, certain other factors—for example, higherenergy costs—had a greater effect on food prices than didthe use of ethanol as a motor fuel

So who's profiting from the prices increases? Apparently, the owners of the Big Food companies.

Del Monte just announced that its Board of Directors approved a 25% increase in the quarterly dividend. And net revenue jumped last quarter for Kraft Foods based on higher prices. And the end of the second quarter will surely find more companies reaping the rewards of their higher supermarket prices and smaller packaging schemes.

So does anyone else even notice this "gouge and grab" by the Big Food companies? Maybe. It was enlightening to see the following story come across this week from MarketWatch:

The fact that the extreme volatility last year in the commodities markets has simmered down is another big plus for the food producers. Corn and fuel prices, despite recent rebounds, are still well below year-ago levels. This helps bulk up the bottom line.

At the same time, the best-run food companies have been getting away with judicious price hikes, correctly calculating that consumers -- perhaps especially in a recession -- will fork out a few extra pennies for their favorite comfort items.

So in these tough economic times, the Big Food companies are hoping you don't notice a few cents here or there or an ounce shaved off a box or bottole of your favorite food.

But the gig is up. Blaming ethanol for your higher profits is no way to run a company.

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Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Big Food's Big Lobby Lobbies Big Time

Big Food's Big Lobby, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, continues its funding to undermine America's move to cleaner and more secure domestic renewable fuels.

In recent lobbying disclosure reports for the first quarter of 2009, GMA spent $720,000.00 to lobby the US Government on a variety of issues.

A big component of this recently disclosed activity was GMA's lobbying against ethanol to the House of Representatives, the Senate and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

And this total doesn't include the individual lobbying reports of the leading companies of the association. Or their allies at the American Petroleum Institute. Millions of dollars continue to pour into DC to keep America tied to dirty foreign oil.

But this is all far from surprising. Last year we reported that the GMA launched an all out stealth attack against domestic biofuels. Why? Because American farmers were an easy target and an acceptable scapegoat for rising food prices.

But the attacks didn't go unnoticed. And months after global commodity prices have sharply fallen, retail food prices remain high and the profits at the big food companies remain even higher.

America needs clean, renewable biofuels like ethanol. And fleecing American consumers with higher food prices to lobby against energy independence is no way to win loyal consumers.

Source: US Sentate Lobbying Disclosure Database

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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Big Food's Big Bribery

Interesting story today helps to explain rising food costs at Kraft Foods and Frito-Lay:

"Buyers for Kraft Foods Inc. and Frito-Lay Inc. are pleading guilty to accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes as part of a scheme that helped drive up food prices nationwide, federal prosecutors said Tuesday."

The big food companies were quick to lay the blame for rapid prices on corn costs. But despite much lower corn prices, food prices have remained high and food packaging size has shrunk.

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Saturday, September 27, 2008

Feds Probe Food-Price Collusion

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, federal prosecutors have opened separate criminal probes into possible price-fixing by major egg producers and California tomato processors.

The investigations, which have not been previously reported, add to concerns that beyond the rising cost of fuel and feed, a hidden factor may be driving food prices higher: collusion among farmers, food processors or exporters.

The article describes how the FBI is looking into allegations of price-fixing, and bribes are responsible for higher food prices. The Chicago Tribune also reported on the federal investigations and reported several specific incidents:

In Sacramento, FBI agents tapped Rahal's telephones late last year and allege to have uncovered buyers at six food companies taking payments from him. Federal investigators also raided SK Foods on April 16. Investigators say they subsequently coaxed admissions from purchasers receiving payments at Agusa Inc., Kraft Foods Inc., Safeway Inc. and Frito-Lay, which is a division of Pepsico Inc.

Kraft Foods declined comment about the investigation.

Frito-Lay spokeswoman Aurora Gonzalez said the buyer who admitted taking payments no longer works for the company.

What is most interesting is seeing the names of the major food companies from the Grocery Manufacturers Association on this probe list for lies, bribes and higher prices. While making record profits, blaming all of the cost increases on corn costs, someone wasn't watching the business back at home.

The WSJ article also discussed how the fresh egg industry through the United Egg Producers tightened domestic egg supply to increase prices.

Fresh-egg farmers acted together through a series of export shipments, organized by United Egg Producers, an industry cartel whose 250-plus members include virtually all of the nation's big egg producers. By removing a small fraction of eggs that would have been bound for U.S. sales and arranging instead for their export, United Egg helped tighten domestic supply and drive up the price of eggs across the country, according to newsletters and other documents that United Egg sent to its members.

Source: Wall Street Journal

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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Ferment in the Field: Debunking the Ethanol Myths

Ethanol remains popular in the US despite recent attacks by Big Oil and Big Food.

These sustained attacks -- which will continue -- have finally begun to galvanize support among other parties to defend the production and use of ethanol.

Because too many know the truth: killing corn ethanol kills off investment in renewable fuels. And that will leave us stuck with oil.

General Motors has released an informative video on E-85 helping to dispel common misconceptions.

Source: GM Next

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Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Corn Gets the Gold

Michael Phelps Kelloggs Corn Flakes Olympic Gold Medals

Or at least Olympic gold medalist.

Swimmer Michael Phelps, who won an amazing 8 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, has chosen to appear on upcoming boxes of Kellogg's Corn Flakes.

He's already taken his place in history alongside the legends, but now Michael Phelps can add one more milestone to the list. After earning eight gold medals in the 2008 Olympic Games, Michael Phelps has earned a place of honor on the front of specially-marked Kellogg's Frosted Flakes® and Kellogg's Corn Flakes® cereal boxes.

Wheaties, made by rival General Mills has usually signed champion athletes on its cereal boxes since 1934. Instead, Wheaties will go for the silver and honor gymnast Nastia Liukin and decathlete Bryan Clay. OK, so maybe this is just another example of why corn beats wheat.

One does have to wonder how much Kelloggs paid for this honor. We suspect millions of dollars in marketing and branding costs will be added to Kellogg's costs over the year. But it's fine because they can just blame corn and ethanol for the higher prices.

Despite that the cost of corn found in a box of corn flakes is under 10 cents in a box. Corn Flakes: The Breakfast of Profiteers!

Source: Kelloggs

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Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Bountiful Crops Beat Bellicose Bluster

What's most interesting in yesterday's crop production report is what it doesn't say. There's no mention that ethanol demand will cause less wheat to be grown, less bread to go to the hungry, less barley for beer, and less soybeans for soy products.

That's because it's based on facts---not fears, lies and mistruths.

It looks like bumper crops all the way around. Corn will have the second-highest production with 12.3 billion bushels.

The USDA report, August Crop Production, (pdf), also looked at other key crops:

Barley - Barley production at 217.9 million bushels, up from 211.8 million in 2007.
Wheat - All wheat production, at 2.46 billion bushels, up 19 percent from 2007.
Soybeans - Soybean production is forecast at 2.97 billion bushels, up 15 percent from last year

Of course, reality has little to do with Big Food's broken campaign against biofuels. Citing unsupported factoids all year long, the Big Food leaders have purposely sowed the seeds of doubt and mistrust over food production. Most of it just outright wrong - even with last year's crop reality.

Quite literally, facts don't seem to matter. The GMA leaders have willfully employed a "scorched earth" policy--- Use anything to advance their mission to destroy biofuels and advance profits.

F i rst, we must obliterate whatever intellectual justification might still exist for corn-based ethanol among policy elites. (Glover Park Group's Media Campaign )

Fortunately, those with cooler and wiser heads have seen through this rhetoric and continued the course.

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Sunday, August 10, 2008

Big Food Continues the Big Fight

Having lost their latest round to thwart energy security, Big Food and Big Meat are rallying for their next attempt at rolling back biofuel advances.

Over the past year, they've lost political and economic arguments with the signing of the historic energy bill and a dramatic defeat in their attempt to foist a waiver of the Renewable Fuels Standard.

So now they are indicating they'll try a new tactic of damning biofuels on environmental charges. In their latest tirade, the groups trumpeted Lester Brown, ever the pessimist on American food production:

Many supporters of the waiver request also note the environmental damage caused by food-to-fuel mandates.
“It is unfortunate but unsurprising that EPA has once again ignored a stark environmental reality,” said Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute.

Perpetual critics of American production agriculture must be giddy with delight. Why spend all of the effort when you can let the big food corporations rip American agriculture apart?

By partnering with extreme environmentalists and perpetual food production critics, Big Food and Big Meat have chosen poor bedfellows. Damning agriculture damns everyone in the system. If that corn, or soybean, or wheat, or pork, or beef, is damaging the environment, then every cookie, loaf of bread, pork chop and beef steak is guilty as well.

"Ethanol production is bad, but my cornbread and beef are good". Big Food and Big Meat can't have it both ways.

Their continued scorched-earth policy tactics of targeting biofuels will have a lasting, damaging effect upon all of agriculture. And less food production means less food for everyone.

Source: Food Before Fuel

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Saturday, August 2, 2008

Big Meat's Big Problem

What's this sweet child helping to do?

Start a new campaign against the ag industry?
Spread mistruths clouding the real answers?
Feed Big Media with false information?

Or is this just Big Food and Big Meat's latest attack against farmers?

Yes, Yes, Yes. No.

It's a new campaign by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, an extreme vegetarian and anti-animal group seeking to ban processed meats in school lunch programs.

We're no fans of the PCRM, whose often misleading campaigns mask their real intentions.

But...

We can't help but wonder if this is the end result of Big Food and Big Meat's attack upon biofuels and agriculture by joining forces with any group, no matter their real intentions.

The recent anti-biofuel, anti-farmer campaigns launched by the American Meat Institute (AMI) and Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has taken on just about every fringe group they could find to bolster their campaign letterheads and trot out press releases how some poverty, hunger, scientific and environmental groups are against biofuels.

The old adage, "Be careful who you sleep with" is always true. The AMI and GMA campaigns against biofuels have emboldened all of the anti-ag groups.

But we're "good and balanced" here at Food and Fuel America, so here's a shoutout to the AMI's legislative alert:

The meat industry is urging its members to respond to a campaign by the PCRM that unfairly blames cancers on processed meats.

Please write to CNN President Jim Walton today to urge CNN not to run an anti-processed meat ad sponsored by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). The ad is factually incorrect and exploits children.

In the ad, children say they have been diagnosed with colon cancer. As they speak, the ad shows images of children eating processed meats in school cafeterias. PCRM, via a new project at http://www.cancerproject.org/, aims to get processed meats removed from school lunch menus nationwide.

In addition to the paid airings, CNN today aired the entire advertisement in news reports by medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

Help us stop PCRM’s alarmist campaign. Write CNN now and make your voice heard. - AMI Alert

Source: CancerProject, American Meat Institute

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Friday, August 1, 2008

Texas Cleans Up in the Reality Aisle!

Don't Mess with Texas! At least when it comes to the food price argument.

A new website, Texas Price Check, sets out to show the truth about food price increases.

Someone has made a mess of the truth about food prices by knocking over the facts and spilling false information all over the place.

It’s time somebody mopped up.

Texans need to understand what’s really pumping up food prices.

Welcome to Texas Price Check. Where the facts are fresh.

Where false rumors are spoiled. And you always get satisfying, homegrown Texas truth.

The best info includes that over the past 50 years, corn prices have gone up by 250% while oil prices have increased 4200% So the site asks, "What Do You Really Think is Pumping Up Food Prices?"

Source: Texas Price Check

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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Poultry's Pilgrim Pays for Perry's Plane

Texas governor Rick Perry Bo Pilgrim corn ethanol RFS

The Houston Chronicle reports today that Texas Governor Rick Perry and three staff's airfare to Washington DC was paid for by poultry producer Lonnie "Bo" Pilgrim. The group attended a news conference where Perry stumped for a waiver from federal renewable fuel standards. The cost of the airfare was disclosed to be more than $9,000.00.

This latest revelation comes after news reports surfaced earlier this month that the Texas governor's request for a waiver came after a $100,000.00 donation by Pilgrim to the Republican Governors Association where Perry serves as chairman. Pilgrim is a co-founder of Pilgrim's Pride, the nation's largest poultry producer.

Critics of biofuels have been lobbying Congress to turn back efforts to promote energy independence, increased fuel supplies, and national security with the cleaner-burning, renewable American-grown ethanol fuel.

Source: Houston Chronicle

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Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Big Oil and Big Food's Do-Si-Do

It's long been suspected that the campaign against biofuels had an alliance between big oil companies and the big food manufacturers.

Associations representing each industry have been vocal about US efforts to develop a renewable fuels industry.

But the distance between the seemingly disparate groups grew a bit smaller today when it was revealed that the head of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, Cal Dooley, was leaving his post to head the American Chemistry Council.

And why is that top spot open? Because its leader, Jack Gerard, is heading off -- to all places -- the American Petroleum Institute (API).

Over at the API, longtime CEO Red Cavaney is retiring and stepping down from the organization that represents major oil companies.

Recent efforts by the Grocery Manufacturers Association to roll-back renewable fuel efforts have been in the spotlight. What more could API want than to see its only competition get kicked around?

But legislators and biofuel supporters have also mobilized to counter the fuzzy facts from Big Food and Big Oil.

Maybe the heat got too hot in the kitchen. Who knows.

One can only hope that the Grocery Manufacturers Association, under public and private pressure to tone down its vicious campaign, will choose a less contentious leader for the organization.

Source: The Hill

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Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Political Donation Buys Ethanol Attack?

Money talks. And a Texas political donation appeared to buy a whole lot of talking.

The Houston Chronicle reported yesterday that a "$100,000 Donation Led to Attack on Ethanol".

The story chronicles how a meeting with Texas Governor Rick Perry with chicken producer Lonnie "Bo" Pilgrim and a subsequent donation prompted the Texas Governor's request for a waiver from the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).

In the three weeks following that donation, Perry's staff began preparing to submit the renewable fuel standards waiver request to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, according to 596 pages of records obtained from the governor's office by the Houston Chronicle under the Texas Public Information Act.

What was also interesting was how the waiver request came as a surprise to the Texas Agriculture Commissioner who said that he first heard "about the potential renewable fuels waiver from a representative of Pilgrim's Pride in February".

Maybe Gov. Perry uses his donors as his PR firm too?

Source: Houston Chronicle

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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Major Food Company Leaders Won't Defend Ethanol Attacks

Senator Charles Grassley told reporters yesterday said that he had no choice in canceling a meeting between members of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and himself after only one CEO agreed to attend and defend the actions of the trade association.

We've previously reported about the ethanol smear campaign organized by the major food companies earlier this month, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

Grassley said the lack of interest by the GMA members was because they may be afraid to stand up for the policies of the Association or may not believe in the dirty tactics being used by the Association.

“I was hoping to have a good discussion about why each of these companies has decided to blame ethanol for raising their food prices. Instead, it appears that all they want to do is give a thumbs up to their trade association’s hiring of expensive PR firms to do their dirty work instead of entering into a real dialogue,” Grassley said. “I appreciate Mr. Policinski of Land O’Lakes’ willingness to sit down and talk, unfortunately it doesn’t appear that his counterparts at the rest of these companies were willing to defend what their trade association was doing.”

Grassley requested the meeting with 15 CEOs of companies that are prominent members of the Grocery Manufacturers Association. The Association’s President and CEO Cal Dooley had requested his own meeting with Grassley in a letter on June 6th.

Grassley invited the CEOs of Campbell’s Soup Company, Del Monte Foods Company, Lakeside Foods, Sara Lee Corporation, Dean Foods Company, Hormel Foods Corporation, Proctor & Gamble Company, Kellogg Company, Land O’Lakes, ConAgra Foods, General Mills, Kraft Foods, Ralston Foods, Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland.

Grassley has been the leading congressional voice for ethanol. He was the first to voice opposition to the smear campaign mounted by the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

“I’m sympathetic to people who are hurting, but to put the blame on ethanol and stop a biofuel just as it’s making traction in the market is not going to help the situation. In fact, if you take away ethanol, you're going to drive up the cost of energy and food even more,” Grassley said. “We’ve got events around the world having a much greater impact on the price of food and gas. We need to stop scape-goating ethanol and be intellectually honest about the real causes behind the increased food prices.”

Grassley has also sent letters to Iowa members of the Grocery Manufacturers Association as well as the Iowa Retail Federation and the Iowa Restaurant Association. Grassley has also urged Iowans who work for GMA companies to voice their opinions.

Source: Senator Charles Grassley

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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Beef's Beef with Lester Brown

The Grocery Manufacturers Association has cobbled together a consortium of odd bedfellows in its battle to blame food cost increases on ethanol: giant multi-national food corporations, extremest environmentalists and agricultural trade groups.

So it's surprising to read that the National Cattlemen's Beef Association has joined lock-step with Lester Brown's prediction that biofuels is fueling world poverty:

“Food-to-fuel policies led to expanded corn planting, which set off a cascade of changing land use at home and around the world that threatens crucial ecosystems. At the same time, global food price spikes are destabilizing nations and driving millions of people deeper into poverty. We cannot afford to ignore these impacts any longer.” - GMA-FoodBeforeFuel press release, June 10, 2008

Dr. Brown is no stranger agriculture. Or to prediction end-of-world food scenarios. A quick look over at the Cattlemen's website shows what others have long known about his "predictions". And very interesting to see what the Cattlemen think too:

It should be noted that Brown has been predicting food security crises for more than 20 years and has yet to be correct in any prediction. - National Cattlemen's Beef Association

Source: BeefUSA.org, Grocery Manufacturers Association - Food Before Fuel

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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Big Food Launches Attack Site

Food Before Fuel Grocery Manufacturers Association GMA foodb4fuel foodtofuel

As part of its goals to end ethanol production, the Grocery Manufacturers Association unveiled its new anti-ethanol website at http://www.foodbeforefuel.org

Ah! you say, this is only about "corn ethanol". Well it's not. From their secret proposal, their goals include all ethanol.

This campaign will serve three important goals:
Freeze or rollback the current corn ethanol mandate;
Stop ongoing efforts to increase the current corn ethanol mandates from 15 to 20 or 22 billion gallons; and,
Stymie state efforts to mandate that all gasoline include 10 percent or more ethanol.

This all fits nicely with the oil industry's efforts to eliminate competition to gasoline as well. As goes corn ethanol, so goes all ethanol.

We told you about their plans earlier when they were revealed by RollCall and Senator Grassley. The GMA's campaign comprises four main components:

Develop a left-leaning coalition of environmentalists, hunger and poverty activists and labor groups;
Blame food cost increases on biofuels (while ignoring the role of soaring energy costs);
Send anti-ethanol propaganda to food banks and other local opinion leaders;
Pay others to create "third-party" reports and spread their slanted points-of-view.

Senator Grassley exposed their coordinated smear campaign and released their proposal and their public relations company's plans:

Interestingly, their new site has a doppelgänger that appeared a few weeks ago at http://www.foodb4fuel.org There's an awful lot of money funding all of this activity.

Expect to see a lot more misinformation appear as they continue to roll-out their attacks.

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