Ethanol Group Wants Origin Labeling for Fuel

An ethanol industry group is pushing lawmakers to craft legislation requiring fuel companies to inform customers what country their fuel came from in hopes of increasing awareness about money spent on oil imported from overseas. According to Reuters, retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark, who co-chairs Growth Energy, says his group had spoken with lawmakers such as Collin Peterson, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and others from fuel-producing states, urging them to craft legislation that would require such labeling.

"Most Americans don't want their paychecks going to Venezuela and other regimes that don't agree with and support the U.S," said Clark. "The United States spends tens of billions of dollars a year on protecting shipping lanes for oil."

Some of the money could be saved by increasing production of U.S. oil and developing alternative fuels like ethanol and fuel-sipping cars, he added. U.S. oil production peaked in the 1970s which means the world's largest fuel consumer has to import most of its crude.

In 2008, Canada was the largest exporter of oil to the United States, sending nearly 2.5 million barrels per day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Saudi Arabia sent more than 1.5 million bpd, Mexico sent 1.3 million bpd, and Venezuela sent nearly 1.2 million bpd, according to the EIA.

Clark stopped short of saying the labeling would cut U.S. consumption of oil from countries whose governments are not friendly to Washington. But he said it would give consumers more choice on deciding what kind of fuel, or alternative fuel automobiles, they want to buy.

U.S. ethanol producers, pushing to boost the allowable level of ethanol in regular gasoline from 10 percent to 15 percent, could benefit if U.S. dependence on foreign oil fell.

Source:wisconsinagconnection