Ethanol: Clear and Present Danger

CEI has long warned that the fuel-from-food craze threatens the world’s poorest citizens by making it harder for them to feed themselves. If you are unacquainted with the economics of ethanol and global food stocks, the causal chain is simple: more food for fuel means less for food, which increases the price of food.

Unfortunately, we were right. Javier Blas, in today’s Financial Times, reports that global food consumption will drop this year—despite a growing population—due to record food prices.

When people get hungry, they get angry, which is why I have argued elsewhere that America’s boneheaded ethanol policy has national security implications. In an age of international terrorism, chaos is a threat. Already, rioting has broken out in Indonesia and Mexico over soaring food costs. Expect more of this.