As I was driving into work this morning I heard a radio news announcer claim that food prices will increase this year. He stated the price increases will affect a wide variety of foodstuffs, but the most significant increases will occur in meat products. The reason for the surge in prices…a dramatic drop in the availability of soybeans and corn stock. Now most of you already know where I am going with this. For many years, scientists have been concerned about the viability of the bio-fuels industry and its associated impact on the food supply. Are we starting to see that impact now? As the biofuels industry continues to grow will prices and availability of foodstuffs also be impacted?

Let me give you one startling fact. In 2009 the U.S. consumed nearly 137 billion gallons of gasoline, which equates to approximately 377 million gallons per day. The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts the practical limit for domestic ethanol production to be approximately 10.7 billion gallons per year, a figure they don’t think is realistic until the year 2030. The same scenario holds true for diesel.

I am one of those people who believe (mostly through the study of scientific journals) that we will never grow ourselves from dependence on fossil fuels, we won’t even come close.  There just isn’t enough arable land in our country to produce the quantity of fuel we need every year, and our demand continues to grow.  Taking into consideration the population growth, along with the increase in fuel use, the breaking point is rapidly approaching. Sooner rather than later we will have to make a decision in this country, whether we want cheap gas or cheap food, we can’t have it both ways.

I am not a doomsayer, I believe in the ingenuity and genius of the human race. The future of the transportation sector will not depend on fossil or bio fuels, but with new and improving battery, fuel cell, and hybrid technologies. What are your thoughts on this issue?

2/11/2011 UPDATE: Read this article, http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/02/peak-corn-federal-ethanol-mandate-drives-corn-supply-use-ratio-50