ST. LOUIS, May 22, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Food companies and their surrogates continued their campaign today to take away one of the most important tools our country has to fight against rising gas costs -- ethanol. The food companies and their lobby group, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, continue to suggest that ethanol use is a key driver in the increasing costs of food.
"There are several factors responsible for driving up food costs, but according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the President's Council of Economic Advisors, ethanol is a very minor component," said Ron Litterer, president of the National Corn Growers Association. "These experts state that the increase in total corn-based ethanol production accounts for only 3 percent of the 43 percent increase in global food prices over the past year."
Today, one food industry representative tried to explain this issue by stating that grocery prices for a package of turkey breasts have increased $1.50 in the past year. According to production statistics, the cost of corn needed to create a pound of turkey has increased by about 20 cents with the rise in corn prices from $2 to $6 a bushel (from 3.5 cents a pound to about 11 cents a pound). That means other factors are responsible for the additional $1.31 increase.
"It's important that consumers realize there's enough corn to supply food, feed and fuel needs in the United States, while still meeting the needs of consumers around the world. Technology is allowing growers to increase our yields each year to continue to meet these growing demands," Litterer continued. "We've not only had record exports, but have been able to provide a surplus."
"Gas prices are high and it's also important to understand the positive impact ethanol is already having on those prices," Litterer said. A Merrill Lynch commodity analyst recently stated that without biofuels, gasoline could cost 15 percent more, which would cost Americans an extra $70 billion a year. Further, according to the International Energy Administration, replacing the amount of ethanol used in the United States and Europe since 2005 would require one million barrels of oil a day.
"It's time food companies and farmers work together to find solutions to the real cause of escalating prices -- reliance on fossil fuels," Litterer said. "Our nation's corn farmers are already offering a real solution to extending our fossil fuel resources and it's already having an important impact."
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is a national organization founded in 1957 and represents approximately 33,000 dues-paying corn growers and the interests of more than 300,000 farmers who contribute through corn checkoff programs in their states. NCGA and its 48 affiliated state associations and checkoff organizations work together to help protect and advance the corn producer's interests.