GoodFuels

Dissent in the Food vs Fuel Ranks

There is reportedly some internal conflict going on within the Grocery Manufacturers Association over the continuing public relations attacks on corn farmers and ethanol.

In a recent commentary, National Corn Growers Association CEO Rick Tolman wrote:

“While this struggle plays out we can only hope reason will win the day and the folly of the food vs. fuel fiasco becomes clear. Thus far, the unhappy members of GMA haven’t been able to bring enough pressure to bear to reel in the rogues in the organization.’

Tolman says GMA is now driven by a “philosophy without vision.”

“According to the Kiplinger Ag Letter, “the food vs. fuel protest against ethanol is proving to have little merit,” noting that even though corn use for ethanol rose 40 percent last year, and corn supplies were tighter than expected, the price of corn dropped.’

Despite that, Tolman expects GMA and other food-related ethanol critics, which he calls the Cheap Corn Coalition, “will soon spend more on propaganda to bash the nation’s most important crop than consumers are paying in increased costs at their local market. Not a very constructive investment, unless their ultimate goals is to trounce corn prices back to the stone age and drive family farmers out of business.”

Let’s hope the dissenters in the ranks prevail before that happens.