Over the past year there have been some fascinating conversations about the promise of ethanol. Within that same twelve-month period we have seen many organizations start crying out against the production of ethanol from corn.

Corn-based ethanol in the US has been labeled as a crime against humanity by some. People complain about the high cost of everything from gas for their cars, diesel fuel for trucks and the price of everything at Wal-Mart has gone up.

Many times we have discussed that corn-based ethanol is not the long-term solution to energy independence in the US. Cellulose-based ethanol holds the greatest hope there. But believe it or not this blog is less about ethanol and much more about land use.

So far, many people have focused the argument that we should not be using a food crop for fuel production. Others complain that farmers are putting too much land in corn right now to try and reap the benefits of a strong market.

I suggest those with the big beef about ethanol should maybe stop talking and start doing a little digging into research about who they are really benefiting by trying to derail ethanol.

In Missouri we have a mandate that we need to have 10% ethanol in our gasoline. Economists figure that with out that E10 requirement we would be paying as much as a dollar more per gallon at the pump. A dollar that would have gone to the oil companies now goes back to the agricultural sector in the US. Notice I did not say to the farmer. As much as I would like to see that happen, American farmers get pennies on the dollar for any of their crops including corn. So by trying to stop the use of corn-based ethanol you are trying to put another dollar in the pockets of the oil industry. And with the record profits oil companies are making now, they certainly need all the help they can get.

Next, for those of you out crying that we are taking food from the poor.
Perhaps you should look at a few other crops that are not providing food or fuel. We have tobacco, hemp and cotton to name just a few of the industrial crops grown in the US. These feed no one and fuel only industry. Should we stop growing them as well in order to produce more food to be given to poor nations? Given to nations with the best of intentions to help people who need it? Unfortunately also given in ways that help destroy opportunities for local markets and locally produced agriculture.

How about our Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) designed to pay people to not produce on their land? Literally millions of acres of CRP land is not being farmed. If you really want to shake things up in the US let’s go ahead and take away property rights and put together a national land use management plan. Now we can designate where people can build homes and businesses and keep productive agricultural lands in production. Hey, we just cured not only food production but urban sprawl as well. All we give up is the concept of private property, a cornerstone of capitalism.

So lets plow through all the bull. If you are fighting the rise of ethanol as a transportation fuel you are siding with oil companies. Without biofuels, they are the only game in town. If you are fighting ethanol you are against renewable energy. If you are against ethanol you are against any real opportunity to build a society based on the ideas and concepts of sustainability. So take a moment and really think about what is going on, let these ideas take root and grow in your mind. The world is not perfect, but it is good.