Effects of U.S. Corn Ethanol on the Rest of the World

Corn ethanol production doesn't just affect the United States, it affects the whole world. According to an article by Timothy A. Wise, the U.S. production of corn ethanol has also impacted the rest of the world. Many know that corn is a staple food for many countries. The U.S. is the largest producer of corn and usually exports corn to other countries but recently, the high prices of corn have made it hard for poor countries to import U.S. corn. This leads us back to the debate over whether corn should be used as food or fuel. With the recent drought and unclear future, I believe it would be a wise choice to start looking into other biofuels more intensely and start growing more corn that's edible for humans and less for biofuels.

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Timothy A. Wise states:

"Of course, poor consumers are the ones most hurt by ethanol-related price increases, especially those in urban areas. Even in a net corn exporting country like Uganda, domestic corn prices spiked as international prices transmitted to local markets. Ugandans spend on average 65 per cent of their cash income on food, with poor urban consumers getting 20 per cent of their calories from corn purchased in the marketplace. More than half of Ugandans were considered "food insecure" in 2007, and the price spikes have only made that worse."

To read the rest of Wises' article: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/10/201210993632838545.html

Another article regarding rising food prices due to corn ethanol production: http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/20/opinion/mcdonald-corn-ethanol/index.html