Ethanol industry improves product and PR efforts

NEW YORK (Associated Press) – Ethanol producers on Wednesday railed against what they described as a smear campaign by opponents who have branded the industry responsible for rising food prices.

“Today, we face strong opposition, and their weapon primarily is the press,” Bob Scott, president of the American Coalition for Ethanol, told hundreds of producers gathered in Omaha for the group’s trade show.

It comes less than a week after the Environmental Protection Agency gave the industry some good news by refusing to cut the federal ethanol mandate.

But the ethanol industry has been hurt over the past year by criticism that linked the corn-based fuel to rising food prices. Food companies, cattle organizations and others have suggested that ethanol production was the main reason for higher corn prices.

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