Corn-based ethanol an environmental disaster

 Frozen Lamb Carcass A May 4 letter by Tom DiBacco of Broadhead + Co. Inc. in Minneapolis advocated continued use of corn-derived ethanol. Mr. DiBacco's company calls itself a "marketing communications agency." I consider them lobbyists for Midwestern agribusiness.Mr. DiBacco's letter contains numerous distortions and factual errors. He states that ethanol uses field corn, presumably as distinct from sweet corn, and that most of it is fed to livestock, not humans. This is factually correct but misleading, since humans drink the milk and eat the eggs and meat produced by the livestock.Clearly, higher prices for field corn mean higher prices for milk, eggs and meat. Also, field corn is used for direct human consumption in products such as corn flour, cornstarch, corn flakes and corn sweeteners in addition to hominy, grits and Bourbon whiskey.Mr. DiBacco erroneously states that corn sweeteners are derived from corn products other than the starch used to produce ethanol. This is wrong. Corn-based sweeteners include corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, high maltose corn sugar, maltodextrin, dextrose and glucose. These ingredients are listed on innumerable food labels. All are derived from starch in direct cost competition with ethanol.Mr. DiBacco's final sentence claims that corn-based ethanol is environmentally friendly. Have you ever seen an Iowa corn field that stretches endlessly into the distance? Nothing lives there but corn.Corn-based ethanol is an environmental disaster. It has negligible or even negative impact on global warming. It has severe cost consequences to the great majority of Americans who do not grow corn but who pay large subsidies to support the grain companies and ethanol producers who make money only because of our taxes.It appears that corn-derived ethanol and other biofuels are increasing world hunger. The federal law mandating ethanol content in gasoline should be repealed and the subsidy for ethanol should be eliminated.New investments in ethanol plants, be they based on corn or molasses, seem bad investments, particularly when the raw materials are not grown locally but must be brought in.