Talking about...Ethanol, FDA, USDA

“A bushel of corn sold for $2 in 2002; today one goes for $4. More than 93 million acres were under corn last summer, the most in more than 60 years.
“That translates into fewer acres for vegetables, alfalfa, soybeans, etc. – and higher prices all around for consumers. Feed for cattle is costing more, which means that dairy products and beef cost more.
“The price of groceries has been rising faster than inflation, some staples very much faster. Dairy products are up 14 percent over the past years; eggs are up more than 25 percent. The price of fuel is another culprit here, but it can’t be cleanly separated from the ethanol mandate: It takes a lot of natural gas and petroleum to grow corn.”
(Source: The Tacoma News Tribune.com, December 19, 2007)
Unsigned editorial questioning the wisdom of ‘another vast expansion of the corn ethanol mandate: 15 billion gallons by 2015’ included in the new energy bill.
>PS: One sure way to foul up the free market – get the government involved.
>PPS: If an increase in ethanol is critical, why are we still slapping a 54 cent per gallon tariff on Brazilian production?

“Corn growers have worked for over two decades to help get us to this point, and now we are seeing the benefits of expanded ethanol production not only in the value of our commodity, but on the main streets of rural communities, in the bottom line of agribusinesses and in our states’ economies, new jobs and tax revenue and in our energy independence.”
(Source: Southwest Nebraska News, December 19, 2007)
Jon Holzfaster, chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board, pointedly disagreeing with the folks in Tacoma.
>PS: Nebraska is home to 21 ethanol plants using nearly 500 million bushels of corn to produce approximately 1.4 billion gallons of ethanol and 4 million tons of distillers grains. William Goldman said it first when he wrote the screenplay for All the President’s Men. “Follow the money.”

"We're relying totally on the plant. We're doing very little testing ourselves. We're saying, 'You tell us you have a problem. And if we don't hear from you, we assume you don't have a problem.'"
(Source: Washington Post, December 21, 2007)
Stan Painter, USDA inspector and representative of the inspectors' union, pointing to a fundamental problem in the inspection system.
>PS: Self reporting vs self interest? Guess which one wins most often?

“In the budget climate we're in, any increase is better than nothing. But we're disappointed and surprised in light of soaring imports and declining consumer confidence."
(Source: USA Today, December 18, 2007)
Scott Faber of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, expressing disappointment in the miniscule increase in funding for the FDA.
>PS: A coalition of special interest groups pushed for big food-safety increases in the past year because of a string of high-profile food recalls. The Coalition for a Stronger FDA, a group that includes three former secretaries of Health and Human Services, wanted a 15% increase for the FDA for each of the next five years.
>PPS:It isn’t going to happen.