Booming ethanol production may help lessen US dependence on foreign oil, but it has already increased the grocery bill for the average American by $47 since July, according to a study from Iowa State University.
US ethanol is made primarily from corn, which is a major source of feed for chickens, hogs and cattle. As a result prices for both meat and eggs will rise, according to the study from the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, which was partly funded by the livestock industry and released May 11.
"We are going to end up paying more for food domestically because we have an ethanol policy that is basically tying the price of corn and feed and the resulting food to the price of imported oil," said J. Patrick Boyle, chief executive of the American Meat Institute, one of the organisations which helped fund the study.
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