Comments on: Carrying A Few Extra Around The Gut Area? Blame Congress!

By: tarran

tarran — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 12:10:23 +0000

Why would big corn ask the government to reduce their subsidies?

Food manufacturers put HFCS in their food because consumers prefer cheaper food with HFCS to more expensive food with cane-sugar. Adding cane-sugar in place of HFCS is more expensive due to high tarriffs on sugar that are maintained at the behest of the corn-processing industry.

This ethanol boondogle is yet another way for them to transfer money from consumers into the industry’s pockets without earning it by producing goods that consumers actually want.

By: Brad Warbiany

Brad Warbiany — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 12:04:11 +0000

Because nobody has the power to “switch” the corn used for HFCS to ethanol production. Corn is sold to whoever wants to buy it. When government mandates a certain amount of ethanol production, that increases demand for corn, but again, nobody in government controls how much corn can be “allotted” to HFCS manufacturers and how much can be “allotted” to ethanol production. As much as bureaucrats would love to have that power, it’s better for all of us to leave it up to the market.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 04:56:22 +0000

This isn’t the ideal solution, I know, but given the growing demand for corn-based ethanol, why hasn’t anyone proposed simply switching the corn used to produce HFCS to produce ethanol instead? It’s not as though the corn farmers would have to have to give up their precious subsidies to do this. Corn is corn, right?

By: Farm subsidies, cheap "food", and obesity « Blunt Object

Farm subsidies, cheap "food", and obesity « Blunt Object — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 06:37:54 +0000

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