Don't sell short the value of American-grown ethanol

If the writer of a recent letter (“Ethanol subsidies have contributed to higher food prices,” AC-T, May 11) truly wants to give an accurate summary on ethanol he should read the latest studies and reports that show that the price of oil is driving grocery prices.

Oil prices drive the price of grocery prices because oil affects the costs of processing, packaging and shipping groceries. Corn costs are just a few cents of every grocery store dollar, while the rest is linked to the price of oil, two-thirds of which is imported.

And what many don't know is that the production of ethanol creates both fuel and food. As much as a third of the corn used for ethanol returns to the feed supply as distillers grains, a nutritious, affordable animal feed.

Let's not forget that ethanol is our best alternative to foreign oil. In 2010, ethanol reduced imports by 445 million barrels of oil — that is more than we import from Saudi Arabia. What's more, the current ethanol tax credits do not go to the ethanol producer – they are given to the ethanol blender. Nevertheless, in 2010, this credit reduced farm payments by $10.1 billion and contributed $53.6 billion to the nation's GDP. That is the complete summary.

Thorne is director of public affairs for Grow the Energy, a trade group for ethanol producers.

source: citizen-times