Misguided ethanol policy helps drive up food prices

Here’s another article — front-page Wall Street Journal (subscription needed) — that notes the shift from food to fuel production (e.g., corn-based ethanol) is helping to drive up the cost of food worldwide and adding to inflationary pressures. While the article doesn’t mention the U.S. government’s policy of ethanol subsidies and tax breaks, it’s surely a major factor in the ethanol boom. Check out recent posts on this issue here and here.