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Monday, 10 March 2008 14:48 |
Brownfield Ag Network
As expected, President Bush gave a major energy policy address at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC) Wednesday morning. He trumpeted America's leadership on ethanol and biodiesel, noting the U.S. has become the world’s leading ethanol producer, most of which comes from corn.
"And that's good - it's good if you're a corn grower and it's good if you're worried about national security," the President said. "I'd rather have our corn farmers growing energy than relying upon some nation overseas that may not like us."
But President Bush also acknowledged high corn prices aren't good for everyone. He pointed out sharp increases in feed costs are hurting hog and cattle producers and boosting food prices.
"If you're a hog raiser in the United States, you're worried about the price of corn to feed your animals," said the President. "I'm beginning to hear complaints from our cattlemen about the high price of corn," he added. "The high price of corn is beginning to affect the price of food, and so we've got to do something about it."
President Bush said the answer to high corn costs doesn't involve a "retreat from our commitment" to biofuels. Instead, the President insisted America must increase its funding for research and development of cellulosic ethanol.
And the food versus fuel debate is very much alive at WIREC. At a breakout session Wednesday morning featuring top agricultural officials from Brazil, Poland, the U.S. and the Philippines, Philippine Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap told attendees the impact of commodity demand from the biofuels industry on food prices is a matter of life and death for his country.
"For some nations, the issue of biofuels and food may be compartmentalized into an economic context," Yap said. "For a nation such as ours, the issue is the very peace, stability and survival of a nation of 90 million people."
Deputy U.S. Ag Secretary Chuck Conner participated in the panel with Yap. He told Brownfield after the session that high-priced oil, not high corn prices as President Bush suggested, is the reason for high food costs.
"Energy prices are the key component to that increase, not the increase in the underlying commodity prices," Conner emphasized, "which supports the need for a renewable fuels sector."
U.S. Ag Secretary Ed Schafer, who addressed WIREC Tuesday, hosted a ministerial luncheon at the event Wednesday. He told Brownfield there is no inconsistency between the President's remarks about the impact of corn demand from the ethanol industry on food prices and the long-held USDA position that higher energy prices play a greater role in food price inflation.
"Well, I think the President stated an obvious fact that everybody knows today that food prices are being challenged by fuel prices," Schafer said. "But really, this is a consistent administrative policy and direction, and I was pleased the President pointed out the fact that, though corn prices are under pressure right now, the pathway is to cellulosic ethanol."
More than 100 countries are represented at WIREC. And the perspective of those here on the food versus fuel debate varies widely. For example, an advisor to Turkey’s energy minister told Brownfield it’s his view that the U.S. should limit corn-based ethanol production to reduce its perceived impact on food costs. But Madagascar's minister for energy and mines, Elise Razaka, told Brownfield his country is trying to attract investors who want to buy land in Madagascar, plant that land to biofuels feedstocks and build a nearby biofuels plant for the purpose of generating electricity.
"We have so much land that is free - we only use 10% of our land," said Razaka. "We have not much infrastructure in Madagascar, so for the remote areas, the remote villages, these biofuels will be the way to get electricity."
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