Busting the 5 Myths of Ethanol: Myth #2

If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, you have probably noticed your food bill is a little more expensive than what it was a year ago. There is no doubt that food prices have rose a bit and that many of us are now watching what we throw into our cart. Although it can be frustrating having to pay more for food, it is hard to blame a certain industry or company for the rising prices of food when there are so many factors involved in getting food to our plate. However, in recent months, many have been placing the blame of high food prices on ethanol. People are starting to believe that ethanol is taking corn away from food production, which is causing the price of food to rise.

This leads us to our second myth: Ethanol production reduces our food supply. The answer to this myth is FALSE and that ethanol does NOT reduce our food supply. Only 1% of the corn grown in the U.S. is edible corn or more commonly known as sweet corn. This type of corn is what you find in the freezer section of the grocery store or in cans on grocery shelves. The rest of the corn grown in the U.S. is mainly yellow field corn, which humans do not eat and is mostly used in livestock feeds, food supplements, and ethanol.

When looking at what a bushel of corn can produce, it produces 1.5 pounds of corn oil, 17.5 pounds of high protein feed called Dry Distillers Grains (DDG), 2.6 pounds of corn meal, and 31.5 pounds of starch. The starch is the portion of the kernel that is used to produce 2.8 gallons of ethanol. The remaining portions of the kernel are used for animal feed, which reduces and displaces some of the corn and soybeans.

As we mentioned earlier, there are many factors that play into the cost of food, such as processing, packaging, warehousing, and transportation. Much of the price increases in groceries is coming from the increase in energy costs. As energy prices climb, so do the expenses of getting food to the grocery store. Often we forget how much energy is actually used in making our food. Almost every step of food production uses energy. Unfortunately, all the costs associated with the energy usage in food production gets passed on to the consumer, which is why the cost of food seems so high. Out of those costs, only 11.6 cents of every dollar spent on food actually goes back to the farmer according to the USDA.

As you can see, ethanol does not play a factor in the food supply, and DOES NOT have an effect on food prices. So next time you’re in the store, remember that the can of corn you are picking up only represents 1% of the entire corn crop that is grown in the U.S. and that the corn being used for ethanol won’t affect your grocery bill!

Check back on Friday, July 1 to bust Myth #3!