Summary
Sugar, Beets, Corn, Rape and Soybeans are the current feedstock for bio ethanol, but the potential for cellulosic, algea and seaweed based ethanol, butanol and other developing fuels has very large potential to offset fossil fuels. Certainly, it is not sustainable to take food and escalate prices over the long term, farmers have ramped up as demonstrated by the bumper crop in corn this year, but prices have not fallen. The US needs to put the research, development and implementation funding into cellulosic biofuels, biomass and biogas because they represent North America's ability to get off fossil fuels, the current ethanol and biodiesel industry have started to established an infrastructure for this conversion over time. Other sustainable alternatives including plug in hybrid and pure electric vehicles from wind, hydro and solar sources will also reduce our dependance on crops for fuel.
Analysis
Certainly, ethanol has driven up the cost of food globally and especially corn in the US. A bumper crop does not reduce the price, indicates the probable cause is the increased capacity of corn based ethanol plants coming on board. Brazil has been very effective with sugar cane: rape seed in Europe has become a very productive source and the expansion of corn/soy based biofuels in the US has taken a predominate position even though sugar beets seem to produce much better yields. All of these sources have issues with substitution of food for fossil fuel and over time are not sustainable with a growing population that require food and water.
The good news is that companies like Dupont and others are working with Universities on viable alternatives from switchgrass to corn stalks to algea and seaweed, all of which have limited effect on food. Some of them could actually be very beneficial in reestablishing grasslands, sequestering carbon dioxide and utilizing land for "farming" that is currently fallow. The ethanol and biodiesel industry is establishing a biofuel infrastructure and supporting investment for these future technologies. Government policy needs to be supportive of the biofuel industry without managing the raw material source. As the new technologies are proven, scaled and implemented, cellulosic costs will be significantly lower and will provide farmers with new opportunities. I believe these opportunities will be very important in preserving both land and water use and are important from an economic and national security perspective to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels.
