Dear Egg Buyer,

The last insert on ethanol talked about the national problems with ethanol; but globally, they are devastating. Bio-fuels were supposed to decrease the effects of global warming, but the opposite is happening. World poverty issues are more threatening as food and fuel battle for farm space. A Time article stated that one person could be fed for a year on the corn needed to fill a SUV one time.

Brazil - The Success Story??

Brazil was thought to be the perfect model of bio-fuel success. The conversion of sugar cane into ethanol was the only green process, which was efficient enough to cut emissions by more than it takes to produce the fuel. However, that ceased to be the case when the Amazon rain forest started to be cut down to make more fields. In the last six months of 2007, an area the size of Rhode Island was lost to deforestation.

Europe Cuts Subsidies

Europe is cutting back on bio-fuel subsidies, realizing that they are not in line with the standards that they are designed to support. New measures are calling for strict guidelines that reflect whether or not the ethanol came from sustainable sources. Did the crop come from cleared forest or farmland? What net effect has the production of that ethanol had on the environment?

Ethanol Fuels Poverty

Spring of this year was marked with numerous riots in Haiti, Egypt, and other countries regarding basic food costs and shortages. The World Bank President, Zoellick, said we may have lost seven years in the fight on worldwide poverty. The effects are much worse than missed meals- they are talking about lost educations and stunted physical growth!

We understand the need to find greener energy alternatives. However, ethanol is one of the least environmentally friendly alternatives, and as taxpayers, we are subsidizing it, then paying higher prices for food as a result.

For those at the Country Hen,

Kathy Moran