Does anyone see a problem with using corn for fuel?

Question

Is using a food source for helping us be mobile going to cause a problem in the future? Does this help or hurt the economy?

Answer 1

Yes, the conflict of interest between food surplus and fuel will begin by reducing the amount of available food relief to poor countries. The resulting food wars will be devastating. But the prophets foresaw famine in a big way. Here it comes!

Answer 2

well, vehicles that run on e85 don't have as much of a better fuel efficiency than cars that run on regular gasoline. so really you'll be making many more stops if you drive 1 of those corn driven cars... :(

Answer 3

The serious problem of corn as a source of automotive fuel is that food and fuel are in competition.  However, I will give you a very different answer as well.  Corn should be used as transportation fuel if used correctly.  That is, the corn should be eaten, and the resultant fat can be used directly by the muscles for transportation, as in walking and bicycle riding.  That would be a very efficient use of the corn as a transportation fuel.  However, using it to drive cars will prove to be bad for the environment and health.

Answer 4

Even if the price of corn were to double, the cost of the corn in corn flakes would only go up 4 cents.  If a milk cow producing 80 pounds of milk a day consumed, say 20 pounds of corn along with the other feed items in the ration, that increase in corn from say $2.75 a bushel to $4.50 will increase the cost of corn 60 cents in that ration.  80 pounds of milk is 9.3 gallons or an increase of 6.5 cents per gallon for the cost increase of the corn.  

The store price for milk has increase far beyond that 6.5 cents.  Processors, transportation (in part cost of fuel), and retailers take the largest percentage of the profit from food items grown on the farm.

What this increase in the commodity prices for corn and soybeans is going to hurt is the agriculture economy.  The input costs for corn and soybeans has skyrocketed, anhydrous ammonia for nitrogen, phosphorus and potash have all gone up in price.  Other input costs are very high and when the price of corn comes back down many farmers will be forced out of business.  Hog farmers cannot afford the current price of corn and soybean meal at these levels.  Farmers are not the cause of high food prices at the grocery store.

Answer 5

as far as i'm concerned, corn is a renewable resource, while oil is not, and the sooner we get off of oil as a primary resource the better.

Answer 6

Yes...

The need in America for cheap food is higher than ever especially with our economy entering a recession.  I'm not sure if you noticed but the price of food has risen dramatically and will continue to rise as the demand for ethanol increases.

I think that using renewable resources is a very important thing but we need to be looking at other alternatives because using corn for ethanol and soybeans for bio diesel is depleting our nations food supply.  Next time you by food look at the label...most likely it will have either high fructose corn syrup, soybean meal, partially hydrogenated soybean oil or something along those lines.  And it is not just packaged foods that are affected either, with the demand for corn and soybeans rising for fuel production that leaves less in supply for protein producers (cattle farmers, dairy farmers, pork producers, poultry growers) therefore raising the price of the grain fed to the animals.  This increases the cost of production per head by a substantial amount and the prices are put back on the consumer when they go anywhere to buy a gallon of milk or a good t-bone or even chicken nuggets from McDonald's

Answer 7

I dont see a problem with it as long as it works.

Answer 8

I have used ethanol for many yrs..since it first arrived on the market..Lately I'm not convinced that it is going to turn out well..the Govt is encouraging larger amounts..The Ethanol plants get .51 cents pr gallon to produce it..  Crop prices have more than double the past few months...food prices are increasing rapidly too...but is gas at the pump getting cheaper??  A big drawback. is the fact that your car won't go as far on a gal of ethanol, as a gal of gas.

It would be great if our climate would support sugar cane production like Brazil  does..

Answer 9

Its going to become a problem when farmers feel that they can make more selling it for fuel and not using the land for food. It will drive the cost of other things to. Have you seen the price of Milk? Your going to end up paying more for other "basics" of life than you save in the cost of the fuel you used.

Answer 10

I understand the fuel is corrosive.  The pipeline to pump it around the country will not last long.  The leaks will be fire hazard.  The pipeline doen't exist, like it does for oil.  

I'm all for it.

Answer 11

As far as I look at it, there is no problem if you don't have any problem.

If you consider whole plant of corn, well it could be better source of fuel. After taking the seeds  whatever remains can be put in to bio-gas pant. Methane thus obtained can be most economical fuel for every machine and cooking on the farm. (You may have to modify machine to run on bio-gas.)

If you think of using corn oil as bio-diesel, it is time to think of economy on your own front. Will the oil cheaper than petro-diesel available today? If not, it is better to sale corn oil and buy diesel.

Check if there is any thing else you can grow on boarders of the farm and get your own bio-diesel supply? Think of cheaper to grow oil-palms, jetropha curcas etc.

Answer 12

there is not problem with it if you saw how much corn is grown here a year you would not even as such a question

Answer 13

I think this is a horrible idea.  The cost of grain right now is extremely high for livestock producers, and with such a bad Canadian/ American  dollar exchange, the farmers are not getting any money for production of animals.

There are starving people all over this continent, and other continents, and we are trying to convert grain to fuel...

The consumption rate is higher then the production rate as it is, with grains being used for fuels, soon there will be a complete shortage of food.

Answer 14

sustainably grown,  i.e. not on ex-rainforest land, not in irrigated drought areas,  then it could have a use.  Esp. if the leaves etc are utilised also - or composted to replenish the land.  

Even better is waste oil from chippies/friers - but even with macdonalds there will not be enough of that for everyone.

Apparantly the fossil oil companies (exxon, shell etc) are buying up grain/corn land and supplies, purposely driving up the price to create this scare,  and protect thier own markets for fossil oil.

Answer 15

i think its ok in terms of saving the environment

Answer 16

The problem is that it takes more energy to make it than what you get from it. Celulosic ethanol might be better but its not yet developed.

Not to mention that burning food for fuel makes food more expensive but you know that already

Answer 17

It will not drive up the price of food very much. This excuse is a bunch of hogwash and I wish people weren't so ignorant.

Answer 18

Corn, soybeans , and many other types of plants are now being used to produce fuel. Its a reliable and renewable resource. It is also good for the economy. ((Home Grown)) fuels make the US less dependent on other countries for our survival. Also It provides a stable source of income for farmers that, in the past, have had trouble selling there products, such as corn, at a hi enough price to pay there bills

Answer 19

drives up cost of food

less productive than other sources of alcohol (algae)

I hope Ohio plants every fallow acre in corn to help keep food prices down and to bring money inot Ohio.

Answer 20

In addition to contributing to an increase in prices of food in general, it is also placing strain on the fresh water supply.  Not only will there be a food shortage, but very possibly a water crisis as well.

Corn ethanol has 30% less energy per gallon than gasoline, meaning that even if it costs less per gallon, you will not get nearly as far with it as you will with a gallon of gasoline.