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Nebraska In less than four months, corn prices have plummeted by nearly 50 percent. So why are consumers still paying record-high grocery prices? The truth is that there is little relationship between the price of farm commodities like corn and the food products you buy in the grocery store. For over a year, a multi-million dollar public relations campaign funded by the Grocery Manufacturers Association has been blaming biofuels for high food prices while corporate food giants like General Mills and Kraft report high profits. "The truth is that corn prices have almost no effect on food prices," said Todd Sneller, administrator of the Nebraska Ethanol Board. "There are literally only pennies of farm value in the food you eat." Sneller said that many factors contributed to the run-up and collapse of grain prices. "Speculators are pulling money out of commodities, and some economists have found that the price of corn tracks the price of oil," Sneller said. "Meanwhile, ethanol production has actually increased. It's clear that speculators and high oil prices were driving up the cost of food. The propaganda distributed by the GMA was designed to confuse consumers and policy makers. Today the facts are clear regarding the minimal impact of biofuels on food products. However, consumers aren't likely to see food manufacturers lower their prices now that corn has dropped." For more information, download the report from the Renewable Fuels Association at http://www.ne-ethanol.org/pdf/CornPrices_Food_prides.pdf. 11/10/08 Date: 11/4/08 Advertisement
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