The US Corn Catastrophe - Infographic

Corn Ethanol Subsidies Are Gone, But The Damage Remains

Thankfully at the end of 2011 the United States (US) Congress allowed the corn ethanol subsidies to expire but corn farmers are still being subsidized.  I am not sure now that the damage is done, it can easily be undone, but our country must try to recover from this corn catastrophe.  Looking for alternative biofuels to replace our fossil fuel addiction, since 1980 the US Federal Government subsidized corn ethanol - or gas made from corn - to the tune of an estimated 45 billion dollars.  

Unfortunately during the late 1970s, the U.S. instituted tariffs that drove up the price of sugar.  Then a few years later, the corn subsidies made the price of corn so cheap that food manufacturers took notice and began adding high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to everything that needed to be sweet and cheap.  These days, HFCS can be found in 3 out of 4 supermarket products.  As a result, American Obesity rates have tripled since 1970 and the incidents of Diabetes have increased sevenfold.

Now that word comes of liver and kidney damage, mammary tumors and shortened life span from ingesting genetically modified organisms (GMO), corn seems to be making an even worse impression on Americans.  Over 85% of corn crops in the US are GMO.



As ethanol production has ramped up due to Congressional mandates for the use of biofuels, it has taken the price of HFCS with it along with food prices.  The removal of the corn subsidy will likely make HFCS even more expensive.

The Damage Done By Corn is Not Confined to Human Health

The negative impact corn subsidies have had, and continue to have on consumers extends beyond human harm.  It turns out that Ethanol from corn results in nearly twice the greenhouse gas emissions as the gasoline it was meant to replace.  The sad irony is that corn ethanol consumes 6 times more energy than it produces.

Big Bad Corn | .....Aaron's EnvironMental Corner.....

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