Transcripts

"Commentary"-Corn Ethanol May Not Be A Healthy Choice

SUSIE GHARIB: Tonight's commentator says corn ethanol subsidies have got to go. She's Nada Eissa, associate professor of public policy and economics at Georgetown University. NADA EISSA, ASSOC. PROF. PUBLIC POLICY & ECONOMICS, GEORGETOWN UNIV.: The biggest economic story of 2008 is just beginning to play out and it has nothing to do with housing. Worldwide, food prices are increasing at rates never seen before, fueling civil unrest and fears of deepening poverty. At home, food costs are rising faster than at any time since the 1980s. What is causing this explosion in the cost of bread, milk and other staples? That part is simple. We want more than farmers can produce, so growth in demand is outstripping growth in the supply of food. Bad weather and high transportation costs play a role, but there are other reasons.

First, the good news: economic growth in countries like India and China has enabled their citizens to consume more and better diets. The other reason is not so good: our unconditional love of corn ethanol. Subsidies for domestic production and taxes on imports are pushing farmers to divert land that would otherwise be used for growing food, forcing us all to pay higher prices. Worse, Washington artificially creates a market for ethanol by requiring refineries to buy it. This is government intervention run amok.

Wait, you say, corn ethanol is good for the environment, so government needs to support its development. Sorry, that claim fails to hold water. Because it takes so much fossil energy to produce corn ethanol, it does very little to reduce our overall use of these fuels and its greenhouse gas emissions are no better than gasoline's. Let's give consumers a break and get rid of corn ethanol subsidies and tariffs. We won't hurt the environment and we'll feed more people here and abroad. I'm Nada Eissa.