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Race Between Wheels And Butter

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ERIC HILL

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 12, 2008

It's either me or ...?

I never thought it would come to this but it has. Just like Sen. Barack Obama saying that his relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright has changed, so has my connection to most things sacred in society, namely my car and food. Like most of you, it will be a battle of will or reasonable facsimile that may decide the outcome. It is man against machine; man against the beast. It is a strange dichotomy. I can choose to feed my family or have nothing to feed them.

A main reason behind the rise in food cost is the effort to increase the use of biofuels. The effort to turn food, mainly corn, into fuel, meaning ethanol, is extracting a huge cost on many families, including mine. As a result, I am now competing for the same resource for subsistence as my car, and we are both in competition with farm animals, although the latter may be a no-win situation or Catch 22.

In America, ethanol is made mainly from corn. This year 24 percent of the corn was converted to ethanol; next year it is estimated that 32 percent of the corn grown here will be converted to the alternative fuel, thus a continuing increase in the price of food.

AgResource, a domestic and international agricultural advisory/research firm which forecasts domestic and world agricultural price trends, estimates that converting corn to fuel contributes to about a third of the increase in the price of food. More corn for fuel equates to less corn for food. And we are not alone. Corn is a staple for cattle, pigs and chickens. The more it cost to feed them means higher food prices for us. The price of corn has tripled in the past three years. As a result, many farmers have switched crops, planting more corn instead of wheat and soybeans, which has increased the price of these food stocks. This is further exacerbated by a federal mandate to produce 20 billion gallons of biofuel by 2015. This is a 100 percent increase over what is currently being produced.

So, there, now you have it. Our love affair with the car is changing. Not only will it cost more to own one but more to operate, too. And the cost is not just in real money terms but in "opportunity cost." Instead of "guns or butter," it's now ethanol or food. And the cost in terms of foregoing alternatives will affect us in some strange ways.

Consider this. As we head into the summer season everyone will either travel, probably by car since it is preferred over airline ticket prices and inconveniences, or attend and host barbeques. How does one choose between fill-ups for a vacation and the basics of a complete barbeque, such as chicken, hot dogs and ribs (pigs) and burgers (cattle)? Or will you be able to start your daily commute in a car burning ethanol without having scrambled eggs and sausage? It is an "Inconvenient Truth," an unintended consequence of the state of affairs in America.

I'm not a card-carrying vegetarian and enjoy a good barbeque, but consider this: Perhaps if as a society we relied less on a diet of animal parts, we could lessen the demand on corn for animal feed. Additionally, this will reduce the level of chemicals we ingest from farm animals that have been genetically altered to increase yield and profits.

We can reduce the demand on corn for ethanol, however, by using mass transit and walking or riding a bike, especially for short trips. Both give us alternatives, lessening our demands on corn, but also provide some health and environmental benefits.

So, it's either me or my car or food. Does anyone have suggestions to get out of this dilemma?

Eric Hill is a husband and father and lives in Tampa.

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