Dave Vander Griend, CEO of ethanol producer ICM (based in Colwich, KS), has a fantastic op-ed published in the Kansas City Star today. Vander Griend begins with talking about the recent manufactured “food or fuel” argument. In the past, the ethanol industry has been blamed for high food prices and environmental damage. Last month, the EPA along with several major universities corrected those misconceptions, stating that ethanol is not the root cause for higher grocery prices. In fact, corn prices have recently fallen sharply despite increased ethanol production. He then goes on to discuss a specific plan ICM has with a local gas station. At TJ Convenience, a mom-and-pop store in Colwich, ICM is kick-starting a program that demonstrates how important ethanol is — to consumers, to agriculture, to the environment and to our nation’s security. At the station, we use special blender pumps to mix fuel on demand to create blends ranging from 10 to 85 percent ethanol. We’ve priced E-10 5 cents below unleaded, and higher percentages of ethanol-enriched fuel are discounted to reflect the subsidy as well as the percentage of ethanol. The piece wraps up with a discussion of ethanol’s merits. Many incorrectly believe that using corn to make fuel means taking food from people’s mouths. Ethanol production merely removes the starch from the corn. Protein and oil are processed into distillers grains, a nutritious livestock feed marketed to feedlots at a price that reduces their feeding cost. Additionally, ICM is perfecting a process that creates additional food-grade products, allowing the most nutritious parts of the corn to remain in the human food supply chain. It is important for consumers to know that ethanol is environmentally friendly too. The United States Geological Survey says it takes 1,851 gallons of water to extract, transport and refine one barrel of oil or 28 gallons of gasoline, compared with three gallons of water to produce one gallon of ethanol from non-irrigated corn. Read Vander Griend’s op-ed with the KC Star here.


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