Is Corn the Future Fuel?

Is Corn the Future Fuel?

Corn Ethanol is only one of many ways that our country can end its dependency on foreign oil. Many have heard of using corn as fuel and some wonder why it is not common practice. There are approximately 134 ethanol plants in operation, consuming close to 1.6 billion bushels of grain, about 15 percent of our total corn production (Meigs, par. 3) but there is much debate over corn being used in conjunction with oil.

Turning corn into fuel is quite simple. Corn silos are connected to a distillery with giant shiny steel vats for milling the corn, then fermenting and distilling it into 200-proof, fuel-grade ethanol (Mufson 2).

Farmers are among those that favor the use. The price of corn has more than tripled since 2003 (Ellis). In the present day economy, that gives farmers a reason to sing praise. Erwin Johnson, 65, has been in the family business of farming for 35 years, like his father and grandfather before him. Johnson says, "This is a fantastic time to be farming...I can't quit now" (Mufson 1).

On the other hand, cattle ranchers, dairymen and others who depend on the grain to feed their animals are pointing to corn ethanol and blaming it for the increase in cost to consumers for meat and dairy (Ellis).

Although corn ethanol helps lesson our dependency on foreign oil, it is not a permanent fix. Researchers are and will continue to look for newer, better ways. Until then, corn it is.

Works Cited

Ellis, John. "Politics Re-enter Corn Fuel vs. Food Fight." The Fresno Bee. The Miami Herald, 9

May 2011. Web. 14 February 2012.

Meigs, James. "The Ethanol Fallacy: Op-Ed." Popular Mechanics. Popular Mechanics, 18

December 2009. Web. 14 February 2012.

Mufson, Steven. "Siphoning Off Corn to Fuel Our Cars." The Washington Post. The Washington

Post, 30 April 2008. Web. 14 February 2012.