As Congress reviews 30 years of corn ethanol subsidies, the global food crisis has shone a negative light on biofuel production There were times when Arlyn Schipper could almost feel heroic on his family farm in the heart of America’s corn belt. His 1,619 hectares (4,000 acres) in Iowa, planted almost entirely with corn, were helping to feed a nation – or at least help put fuel in its gas tanks, as his crop was processed into corn ethanol. Schipper still sees it that way. It is just he feels America has moved on, or as he put it: “The country has turned on us.” The US debt crisis , and the challenge of finding $1.3tn (£796bn) in budget cuts, has forced Congress to re-examine three decades of government subsidies for corn ethanol. Drought and famine in the Horn of Africa have exposed further a negative consequence of biofuel production: the global food crisis . By competing with food crops for land, large-scale biofuel production has constricted supply and so boosted food prices across the world. This has led to a backlash against biofuels such as corn ethanol from environmentalists and development charities. “Ten years ago this was the greatest thing since apple pie – ethanol. A lot of farmers invested in this, and a lot of farmers invested in ethanol plants. Everybody wanted it. Our country wanted it. It was a renewable resource,” said Schipper. “And now that we have got all of this money tied up in this, it’s kind of turned on us.” Many will feel that corn farmers have had it pretty good. And the ethanol industry still has a mighty hold on America’s corn belt. America is projected to produce 14bn US gallons (53bn litres) of corn ethanol this year at 200 refineries across the midwest. Iowa, which leads the country in corn production, will use 58% of its crop for ethanol this year. Some farmers, such as Schipper, may sell up to 70% of their crop to produce ethanol. There are five ethanol plants within a 50-mile radius of his home But a five-year boom in corn ethanol production may be coming to an end – or at least that is the hope of some campaigners. “I think we are at a turning point. We are full to the gills with corn ethanol,” said Jeremy Martin, who studies biofuels for the Union of Concerned Scientists . As a start, the industry is due to lose some of its government support – more than 30 years after Jimmy Carter first began subsidising corn ethanol to encourage the development of a homegrown plant-based fuel. Congress is expected to end $6bn in subsidies during the debt deal negotiations. The subsidy had been directed to the oil firms which incorporate ethanol into their products. Fuel sold at most US petrol stations contains 10% ethanol. The industry had hoped to re-direct some of those funds to refitting petrol stations to take more ethanol, under a deal reached in the Senate last July. But the subsequent US debt ceiling deal, with its demands for deep cuts, now makes that unlikely. “Washington is out of money,” said Sheila Karpf, an analyst at the Environmental Working Group , a non-profit organisation. For farmers like Schipper, and ethanol refiners, there will be little reason to mourn the end of the subsidy, arguing that the money went directly to the oil industry anyway. But campaign groups estimate it could lead to a slight drop in corn prices. “It won’t make a big difference for American farmers but it could make a huge difference for impoverished countries,” said Marie Brill, an analyst at ActionAid . This year’s famine in the Horn of Africa has a complex set of causes, not least a dire political situation that has made problems much worse, but it has served to refocus attention on global food prices – and the impact of harvesting biofuels such as corn ethanol. The US is the world’s largest producer and exporter of corn, giving it the power to dictate global market responses. Domestic consumption of corn, as ethanol, has driven up the price of corn worldwide , according to studies from the World Bank and other institutions. The high prices for corn – while driving hunger in Africa – have encouraged other farmers to turn over land from wheat, soybeans, or even pasture to corn production. US farmers planted 92m acres of corn this year, up from 4m acres last year, according to the US department of agriculture. “Farmers are tearing up any little bit of land they had and going to corn,” said Brill. The concern over the global food crisis added new urgency to existing campaigns against the use of corn ethanol. Environmental groups had argued that its use offered no meaningful reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – in part because of the vast use of energy and water in the ethanol conversion process. As a food crop, corn is also far more damaging to the environment than other crops, such as soybeans, because it uses more pesticides and fertiliser. “The research is very clear by now. Turning corn into ethanol is not environmentally sound,” said Bill Freese of the Centre for Food Safety . “It’s really an environmental disaster.” That was not what was intended when Carter promoted the use of ethanol as a way to get America off imported oil, offering subsidies to industries to mix the fuel. The industry never really took off – even with federal funding. By 2001, 6% of corn crop was being used to produce ethanol. But energy policies brought in by George W Bush which set production quota to encourage the use of biofuels allowed the industry to take off. By last year, nearly 40% of US corn was going to produce ethanol. It is less clear, however, whether corn ethanol is having a major effect in helping America reduce its consumption of fossil fuels. Corn ethanol will displace just 7% of the energy supplied by oil by 2020, according to an analysis by Freese. Campaigners argue that the entrenched government supports for corn ethanol have blocked the development of next generations of greener biofuels made from wood or the non-edible parts of plants, known as cellulosic biofuels. “Corn ethanol continues to eat up the market and even eat up grant money that could be used to spur the development of cellulosic and advanced biofuels,” said Sheila Karpf, an analyst at the Environmental Working Group. Getting rid of corn ethanol though is another matter. For farmers like Schipper, ethanol has brought stability and new sources of income. Over the years, the refineries have spun off another industry in animal feed lots, which buy up the unused parts of the corn kernel to feed to pigs, cattle and turkey. Harris Haywood, who runs a nearby cattle finishing operation, estimates he has cut back on his corn use by 40%, by re-using the product from the ethanol refinery. “The byproduct is very, very cheap compared with corn,” he said. “And we can vary our rations to the price of corn. If corn gets cheap we can use more corn.” It’s going to be hard to persuade farmers away from ethanol. Despite the increasingly negative public opinion on ethanol Schipper is just not ready to give up on it yet. “Everything has turned on us, but ethanol is still a great thing,” he said. “It’s been good for us.” Biofuels Energy Renewable energy United States Farming Food US Congress US politics Suzanne Goldenberg guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …As Congress reviews 30 years of corn ethanol subsidies, the global food crisis has shone a negative light on biofuel production There were times when Arlyn Schipper could almost feel heroic on his family farm in the heart of America’s corn belt. His 1,619 hectares (4,000 acres) in Iowa, planted almost entirely with corn, were helping to feed a nation – or at least help put fuel in its gas tanks, as his crop was processed into corn ethanol. Schipper still sees it that way. It is just he feels America has moved on, or as he put it: “The country has turned on us.” The US debt crisis , and the challenge of finding $1.3tn (£796bn) in budget cuts, has forced Congress to re-examine three decades of government subsidies for corn ethanol. Drought and famine in the Horn of Africa have exposed further a negative consequence of biofuel production: the global food crisis . By competing with food crops for land, large-scale biofuel production has constricted supply and so boosted food prices across the world. This has led to a backlash against biofuels such as corn ethanol from environmentalists and development charities. “Ten years ago this was the greatest thing since apple pie – ethanol. A lot of farmers invested in this, and a lot of farmers invested in ethanol plants. Everybody wanted it. Our country wanted it. It was a renewable resource,” said Schipper. “And now that we have got all of this money tied up in this, it’s kind of turned on us.” Many will feel that corn farmers have had it pretty good. And the ethanol industry still has a mighty hold on America’s corn belt. America is projected to produce 14bn US gallons (53bn litres) of corn ethanol this year at 200 refineries across the midwest. Iowa, which leads the country in corn production, will use 58% of its crop for ethanol this year. Some farmers, such as Schipper, may sell up to 70% of their crop to produce ethanol. There are five ethanol plants within a 50-mile radius of his home But a five-year boom in corn ethanol production may be coming to an end – or at least that is the hope of some campaigners. “I think we are at a turning point. We are full to the gills with corn ethanol,” said Jeremy Martin, who studies biofuels for the Union of Concerned Scientists . As a start, the industry is due to lose some of its government support – more than 30 years after Jimmy Carter first began subsidising corn ethanol to encourage the development of a homegrown plant-based fuel. Congress is expected to end $6bn in subsidies during the debt deal negotiations. The subsidy had been directed to the oil firms which incorporate ethanol into their products. Fuel sold at most US petrol stations contains 10% ethanol. The industry had hoped to re-direct some of those funds to refitting petrol stations to take more ethanol, under a deal reached in the Senate last July. But the subsequent US debt ceiling deal, with its demands for deep cuts, now makes that unlikely. “Washington is out of money,” said Sheila Karpf, an analyst at the Environmental Working Group , a non-profit organisation. For farmers like Schipper, and ethanol refiners, there will be little reason to mourn the end of the subsidy, arguing that the money went directly to the oil industry anyway. But campaign groups estimate it could lead to a slight drop in corn prices. “It won’t make a big difference for American farmers but it could make a huge difference for impoverished countries,” said Marie Brill, an analyst at ActionAid . This year’s famine in the Horn of Africa has a complex set of causes, not least a dire political situation that has made problems much worse, but it has served to refocus attention on global food prices – and the impact of harvesting biofuels such as corn ethanol. The US is the world’s largest producer and exporter of corn, giving it the power to dictate global market responses. Domestic consumption of corn, as ethanol, has driven up the price of corn worldwide , according to studies from the World Bank and other institutions. The high prices for corn – while driving hunger in Africa – have encouraged other farmers to turn over land from wheat, soybeans, or even pasture to corn production. US farmers planted 92m acres of corn this year, up from 4m acres last year, according to the US department of agriculture. “Farmers are tearing up any little bit of land they had and going to corn,” said Brill. The concern over the global food crisis added new urgency to existing campaigns against the use of corn ethanol. Environmental groups had argued that its use offered no meaningful reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – in part because of the vast use of energy and water in the ethanol conversion process. As a food crop, corn is also far more damaging to the environment than other crops, such as soybeans, because it uses more pesticides and fertiliser. “The research is very clear by now. Turning corn into ethanol is not environmentally sound,” said Bill Freese of the Centre for Food Safety . “It’s really an environmental disaster.” That was not what was intended when Carter promoted the use of ethanol as a way to get America off imported oil, offering subsidies to industries to mix the fuel. The industry never really took off – even with federal funding. By 2001, 6% of corn crop was being used to produce ethanol. But energy policies brought in by George W Bush which set production quota to encourage the use of biofuels allowed the industry to take off. By last year, nearly 40% of US corn was going to produce ethanol. It is less clear, however, whether corn ethanol is having a major effect in helping America reduce its consumption of fossil fuels. Corn ethanol will displace just 7% of the energy supplied by oil by 2020, according to an analysis by Freese. Campaigners argue that the entrenched government supports for corn ethanol have blocked the development of next generations of greener biofuels made from wood or the non-edible parts of plants, known as cellulosic biofuels. “Corn ethanol continues to eat up the market and even eat up grant money that could be used to spur the development of cellulosic and advanced biofuels,” said Sheila Karpf, an analyst at the Environmental Working Group. Getting rid of corn ethanol though is another matter. For farmers like Schipper, ethanol has brought stability and new sources of income. Over the years, the refineries have spun off another industry in animal feed lots, which buy up the unused parts of the corn kernel to feed to pigs, cattle and turkey. Harris Haywood, who runs a nearby cattle finishing operation, estimates he has cut back on his corn use by 40%, by re-using the product from the ethanol refinery. “The byproduct is very, very cheap compared with corn,” he said. “And we can vary our rations to the price of corn. If corn gets cheap we can use more corn.” It’s going to be hard to persuade farmers away from ethanol. Despite the increasingly negative public opinion on ethanol Schipper is just not ready to give up on it yet. “Everything has turned on us, but ethanol is still a great thing,” he said. “It’s been good for us.” Biofuels Energy Renewable energy United States Farming Food US Congress US politics Suzanne Goldenberg guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Bret Michaels is suing concert promoters for breach of contract, and the catering rider provided in the lawsuit shows that it’s not just female entertainers who have ” diva demands .” Of course, Michaels’ requirements aren’t quite as wacky as, say, Mariah Carey’s … but his rider does note that “Sprite is not…
Continue reading …Downtown Auckland is seeing snow for the first time in 80 years today, as a “once in a lifetime” blast of winter weather hits New Zealand. “If Auckland is getting reports of snow flurries now at the warmest point of the day that makes you wonder about what might be…
Continue reading …Aww, Tom Hanks really is just as nice as he seems … at least according to the National Enquirer . The tabloid claims the Larry Crowne writer, director, and star recently ran into a couple at a California gas station who had just seen the critically-panned movie . It “wasn’t that good,” the…
Continue reading …The “memory crystals” Superman used to hear messages left by his parents are no longer just science fiction. Researchers in Britain have found a way to store computer data on glass by reorganizing its atoms. A laser creates miniscule dots, known as voxels, in silica glass. Light passing through the…
Continue reading …Libya’s interior minister and nine of his family members flew into Cairo today on their private plane in what appeared to be the highest level defection from Moammar Gadhafi’s regime in months. Egyptian airport officials said Nassr al-Mabrouk Abdullah entered on a tourist visa. No Libyan embassy officials greeted him…
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Campaigners say plants being grown in US may worsen global food crisis, while farmers express cross-contamination fears US farmers are growing the first corn plants genetically modified for the specific purpose of putting more ethanol in gas tanks rather than producing more food. Aid organisations warn the new GM corn could worsen a global food crisis exposed by the famine in Somalia by diverting more corn into energy production. The food industry also opposes the new GM product because, although not inedible, it is unsuitable for use in the manufacture of food products that commonly use corn. Farmers growing corn for human consumption are also concerned about cross-contamination. The corn, developed by a branch of the Swiss pesticide firm Syngenta, contains an added gene for an enzyme (amylase) that speeds the breakdown of starches into ethanol. Ethanol plants normally have to add the enzyme to corn when making ethanol. The Enogen-branded corn is being grown for the first time commercially on about 5,000 acres on the edge of America’s corn belt in Kansas, following its approval by the US Department of Agriculture last February. In its promotional material Syngenta says it will allow farmers to produce more ethanol from the corn while using less energy and water. Meanwhile, campaigners say the corn will heap pressure on global food supplies and contribute to environmental degradation. They argue Enogen will lead to an increase in the amount of food crops going to fuel, leaving less for human consumption and leading to food price rises. That will lead to food price rises on the global market. “The temptation to look at food as another form of fuel to use for the energy crisis will exacerbate the food crisis,” said Todd Post of Bread for the World, a Christian anti-hunger organisation. Although individual events such as the Somalia famine are caused by a complex combination of factors, several studies have established that the expansion of biofuels has pushed up food prices worldwide, making it harder to afford for the poorest. A World Bank report released on Tueday says food prices that are now close to their 2008 peak have contributed to the famine in Somalia. Marie Brill, a senior policy analyst at ActionAid warned: “It’s going to put even more pressure on a really tight market. It will be really tempting to farmers to take on this new more efficient ethanol form of corn.” The food industry is warning of the dangers of contaminating existing corn crops with the new GM corn. The same traits that make the modified corn so attractive to the ethanol industry – the swift breakdown of starches – would be a disaster for the food industry, turning corn chips into shapeless lumps, and stripping the thickening properties from corn starch. Even a small amount of the amylase corn – one kernel out of 10,000 – could damage food products, according to data supplied to the North American Millers’ Association by Syngenta. The organisation, like most food industry groups, has opposed the corn, noting failures to prevent cross-contamination from earlier GM breeds. The European Union, South Korea, and South Africa have not approved its import. Enogen also has to catch on among farmers. “I’m sceptical as a farmer,” said Allen Jasper, who runs a cattle-feed operation near Whitten, Iowa. “The first thing I’m going to ask is how does it yield. Any time you try and change a corn plant and get it to do something that is not native to the plant you have to be sceptical of the yield.” Syngenta maintains the corn variety has a high yield, and that it has the appropriate safeguards to prevent cross- pollination. After Kansas, the company plans to expand its growing area to Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and southwest Minnesota. Farmers will grow the corn under contract to an ethanol production plant, getting a premium over regular corn. Buffer rows of corn will be planted. “This is a very slow ramp-up. This is not a broad acre crop at this point,” said Paul Minehart, a Syngenta spokesman. Steve McNinch, of Western Plains Energy, in Kansas, the only ethanol plant to have processed the new corn, said adding a small amount of amylase corn to the mix – about 10% – would increase production by 10%. GM Farming Energy Food Famine United States Suzanne Goldenberg guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Campaigners say plants being grown in US may worsen global food crisis, while farmers express cross-contamination fears US farmers are growing the first corn plants genetically modified for the specific purpose of putting more ethanol in gas tanks rather than producing more food. Aid organisations warn the new GM corn could worsen a global food crisis exposed by the famine in Somalia by diverting more corn into energy production. The food industry also opposes the new GM product because, although not inedible, it is unsuitable for use in the manufacture of food products that commonly use corn. Farmers growing corn for human consumption are also concerned about cross-contamination. The corn, developed by a branch of the Swiss pesticide firm Syngenta, contains an added gene for an enzyme (amylase) that speeds the breakdown of starches into ethanol. Ethanol plants normally have to add the enzyme to corn when making ethanol. The Enogen-branded corn is being grown for the first time commercially on about 5,000 acres on the edge of America’s corn belt in Kansas, following its approval by the US Department of Agriculture last February. In its promotional material Syngenta says it will allow farmers to produce more ethanol from the corn while using less energy and water. Meanwhile, campaigners say the corn will heap pressure on global food supplies and contribute to environmental degradation. They argue Enogen will lead to an increase in the amount of food crops going to fuel, leaving less for human consumption and leading to food price rises. That will lead to food price rises on the global market. “The temptation to look at food as another form of fuel to use for the energy crisis will exacerbate the food crisis,” said Todd Post of Bread for the World, a Christian anti-hunger organisation. Although individual events such as the Somalia famine are caused by a complex combination of factors, several studies have established that the expansion of biofuels has pushed up food prices worldwide, making it harder to afford for the poorest. A World Bank report released on Tueday says food prices that are now close to their 2008 peak have contributed to the famine in Somalia. Marie Brill, a senior policy analyst at ActionAid warned: “It’s going to put even more pressure on a really tight market. It will be really tempting to farmers to take on this new more efficient ethanol form of corn.” The food industry is warning of the dangers of contaminating existing corn crops with the new GM corn. The same traits that make the modified corn so attractive to the ethanol industry – the swift breakdown of starches – would be a disaster for the food industry, turning corn chips into shapeless lumps, and stripping the thickening properties from corn starch. Even a small amount of the amylase corn – one kernel out of 10,000 – could damage food products, according to data supplied to the North American Millers’ Association by Syngenta. The organisation, like most food industry groups, has opposed the corn, noting failures to prevent cross-contamination from earlier GM breeds. The European Union, South Korea, and South Africa have not approved its import. Enogen also has to catch on among farmers. “I’m sceptical as a farmer,” said Allen Jasper, who runs a cattle-feed operation near Whitten, Iowa. “The first thing I’m going to ask is how does it yield. Any time you try and change a corn plant and get it to do something that is not native to the plant you have to be sceptical of the yield.” Syngenta maintains the corn variety has a high yield, and that it has the appropriate safeguards to prevent cross- pollination. After Kansas, the company plans to expand its growing area to Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and southwest Minnesota. Farmers will grow the corn under contract to an ethanol production plant, getting a premium over regular corn. Buffer rows of corn will be planted. “This is a very slow ramp-up. This is not a broad acre crop at this point,” said Paul Minehart, a Syngenta spokesman. Steve McNinch, of Western Plains Energy, in Kansas, the only ethanol plant to have processed the new corn, said adding a small amount of amylase corn to the mix – about 10% – would increase production by 10%. GM Farming Energy Food Famine United States Suzanne Goldenberg guardian.co.uk
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President hopes to energise re-election campaign with tour of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, all of which he won last time President Barack Obama began a bus tour of the US midwest focused on jobs and the economy on Monday, aiming to leave behind doubts about his leadership that could dent his 2012 re-election prospects. The three-day trip takes him to Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, states he won in the 2008 presidential election, but could expose Obama to voters who, polls suggest, are furious about political gridlock in Washington as he begins serious campaigning for his 2012 re-election attempt. The White House says Obama is on a listening tour to hear from Americans about the economy and talk about how to boost jobs and hiring. There are no plans announced for a major policy speech to roll out initiatives for economic growth. With unemployment at just above 9%, jobs are expected to be the central issue for voters in next year’s presidential and congressional elections. Even some of Obama’s fellow Democrats have expressed frustration that the president has not promoted plans to boost jobs growth more aggressively. Republicans blasted the trip as a taxpayer-funded “debt end” bus tour and hammered Obama over high unemployment, record national debt and the flagging economy. Obama was distracted for much of the summer by a divisive debate over the debt and deficits that triggered a downgrade in the US credit rating and undermined the public’s faith in Washington. With his own poll numbers flagging, Obama will use the tour to tout his job-growth agenda, which includes extending a payroll tax cut, finalising free-trade pacts and authorising infrastructure projects to create positions for construction workers. He will also try to channel citizens’ anger about the bad economy against Republicans in Congress. Obama’s job approval rating dipped below 40% – to 39% – on Monday in the Gallup daily tracking poll. Obama will speak at a town hall style meeting on Monday in Cannon Falls before heading to Decorah, Iowa. He then holds a rural economic forum in Peosta, Iowa, on Tuesday and town hall meetings in Atkinson and Alpha, Illinois, on Wednesday before returning to Washington. US elections 2012 Barack Obama US politics United States Democrats guardian.co.uk
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