Blame It on Biofuels

Cornflake makers and socialists alike are pointing to green fuel for high food prices. Are they right?

High food prices always hit the poor hardest, and these days there is plenty of bad news. Corn prices are nearly $4 a bushel, almost double their 2005 level. In Mexico, for instance, that translates into a 50 percent rise in the price of corn tortillas, which has elicited protests from tens of thousands of workers. Many blame the burgeoning U.S. biofuel industry, centered around corn-based ethanol, for the crunch. Fidel Castro says diverting corn into fuel is a “tragic” turn of events for the world’s poor, while Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez calls it “craziness.”

They aren’t the only ones pointing the finger at biofuels for high prices
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Rising oil prices hurt, too. Food expert Michael Pollan has said that the most “worrisome” aspect of food production is how much energy it consumes. Each step from reaping to packaging uses additional energy