How will the increase demand for alcohols affect the price for biofuel and food staples in America?

Question

There has been concern expressed that the demand for alcohol (ethanol) used is the production of biofuel will result in an increase in the price of food staples in less developed nations. In America, methanol, instead of ethanol, is chiefly used in the production of biofuels. Will the increase demand for methanol significantly drive up the price for certain food stables used to produce it? If it does, would government regulations capping the price be a viable way to ensure cheap renable energy?

Answer 1

yes

Answer 2

I think you have yhour 'anol's confused.

Ethanol, aka "grain alcohol" is being made from corn and other crops to make ethanol/E85 fuel for automobiles.

Methanol, aka "wood alcohol" is used in small quantities in the process of brewing biodiesel.  Methanol can be distilled from wood fibers, but mostly is made from fossil fuels by oxygenating natural gas (methane).

Right now, ethanol uses corn and other junk crops that are mainly used for animal feed for meat animals.  Perhaps not the most suitable feed, says the book "The Omnivore's Dilemma"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594200...

Anyway, you notice the price of a cob of corn hasn't gone up much, but if you're a chicken rancher, you're paying a lot more for your feed.  http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070309/crop_repo...

There is a lot of economic manipulation being done by the government and Big Agriculture around ethanol.

Answer 3

Biofuels may not be the answer.  Many studies have concluded that biofuels are energy negative, in that it takes more energy to produce biofuels than the process produces.  Add to that the impact on food supply and soil depletion, and I'm not sure we should be welcoming biofeul technology with open arms.  Admittedly, there are just as many studies to the contrary.  

Biofuels is touted by farmer as being the best thing since sliced bread.  However, one must be as careful accepting their statements as truth as she does with accepting the oil company's statements.  They are both in it for profit.  We already know what the oil companies do to protect their market.  They fight tooth and nail agains government mandated fuel effeciency increases for vehicles.  They squash alternative technology for vehicles.  However, farmers fair to make a ton of money by creating a new market for their product; more buyers creates higher demand.  Higher demand promotes higher prices.  Hence, the price of a bushel of corn will increase dramatically since both the food industry AND the fuel industry want it.  

This will (indeed HAS already) cause the price of food/groceries to skyrocket.  Add to that the increase in the cost of our fuel (because biofuel is expensive to produce) and we will be crumbling under heavy household budgets.  

I'm not sure what the truth is about biofuels.  But I think we need to be careful about supporting an industry which may prove to be just as greedy as the oil tycoons.

What we need to do is get away from technology based on burning fuel, and turn to technology which is truely clean:  hydro, solar, geothermal, wind.

Just my opinion.  For what it's worth.

Answer 4

It won't actually have much effect.  There is a large amount of 'capacity' that is not being used in the american food staples production.  Land that is not being farmed.  An increase in demand would be met by more farming, particularly if agricultural subsidy policies are changed in the US to encourage the production of crops that are usable in the biofuels market.

Answer 5

Ethanol will blow over.  It should be called the 7% solution.  If it is HEAVILY subsidized AND we plow under what's left of our grasslands,  it will provide 7% of our energy needs.

Answer 6

The plan does and should focus on non-food plants such as grasses.  With bio engineering they should be able to find fast growing plants that will yield higher percentage of biofuel per water used.

Scientists have already pointed out the enormous demands to our water supply to raise crops like corn.  Diverting water and parcelling land for production of low yield sources of biofuels will ruin our economy and and environment.

Answer 7

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