For the last time ethanol cannot be blamed for higher bills at the grocery store. Last summer, it seemed that everybody with a voice was blaming higher food costs on ethanol consumption. Despite numerous studies proving that increases in food prices were related to higher fuel costs and other factors ethanol took the blame.

Fuel’s Cheap Why Isn’t Food?

The public at large was lead to believe that biofuels like ethanol were directly to blame for their higher prices at the grocery store. Now the price of corn has decreased by 50 percent the summer’s spike and fuel costs are way down as well, food prices haven’t followed. The price that consumers are paying for cereal, milk and meat hasn’t decreased.

The Marketplace Works?

I hate to quote Still-President Bush, but this time. It looks like “the marketplace works,” in favor of ethanol’s reputation. But now that we can clearly see that ethanol manufacturing isn’t responsible for increasing current food prices we have to ask: Why the hell is food so expensive?

Let’s start with food manufacturers. Despite still high food prices Kraft and Kellog recently announced huge profits in the third quarter.

Ethanol Spear Campaign

A recent press conference from Growth Energy has exposed Big Food and their Washington lobbyists. The big food lobby has been deliberately spreading lies about clean green biofuels in a blatant smear campaign.

If that doesn’t have your blood boiling check this out, back in March of 2007 the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association started a huge smear campaign against ethanol. A brief look at this document they sent to their public-relations agency clearly states their goals to turn public opinion against ethanol and other biofuels. It seems their number one goal was to roll back the 2007 energy bill mandates that required gasoline refiners to blend 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol into the nation’s gasoline supply. At the time food prices were rising, but there was very little evidence to support claims that it was due to increased consumption of corn used for ethanol production.

Despite the basic facts, one of their main goals of the Grocery Manufacturers Association was to “amplify the extraordinary earned media opportunities created by rising food prices. In particular amplify the links between mandates and food prices”. Now it’s easy to understand we see little, if any, media coverage concerning cellulosic ethanol advances.

Can Biofuels Get A Little Positive Press Please?

How often have you seen coverage of ethanol and biofuels on television with any mention of production is being shifted away from corn-based to cellulosic ethanol based on agricultural waste products?

I’ve seen reports on how over-farming land to produce corn for ethanol is destroying soil. When the truth is switchgrass, which even improves soil quality and grows in places corn can’t, is allowing farmers to improve their soil. Cellulosic biofuel crops like switchgrass and jatropha allow farmers to profit from soil considered too poor for food production.

Please share this article and others at Growth Energy in an attempt to prevent the spread of biofuel misinformation.