Impact of Ethanol Use on Food Prices and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions

摘要

The use of ethanol in gasoline has increased substantially over the past decade. Currently, most ethanol in the United States is produced from domestically grown corn, and the rapid rise in the fuels production and usage means that roughly one-quarter of all corn grown in the United States is now used to produce ethanol. Since 2006, food prices have also risen more quickly than in earlier years, affecting federal spending for nutrition programs (such as school lunches) and the household budgets of individual consumers. The increased use of ethanol accounted for about 10 percent to 15 percent of the rise in food prices between April 2007 and April 2008, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates. In turn, that increase will boost federal spending for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp program) and child nutrition programs by an estimated $600 million to $900 million in fiscal year 2009. Last year, the use of ethanol reduced gasoline consumption in the United States by about 4 percent and greenhouse-gas emissions from the transportation sector by less than 1 percent.