President Biden wants to increase the amount of ethanol used in gasoline, in an effort to help cut into the price of oil's influence on what you pay at the pump. But will increasing use of the corn-based additive make food more expensive?
During the 2008 recession, increased use of ethanol was blamed for rising food prices, as more corn was used for gasoline. But a Congressional Budget Office review found that ethanol only accounted for about 0.5 to 0.8 percent in increased food prices.
Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain says it could actually help hold down rising food costs.
"What will happen with the increased use in ethanol, the overall goal is to decrease the overall energy costs, and the energy costs are one of the primary factors in the cost of food production as well," said Strain.
Strain said going from ten percent to 15 percent ethanol in gasoline should not strain the food supply that much, and corn growers ought to be able to keep up.
"It may not adversely affect food prices in any way if we have enough corn production," said Strain.
Ethanol does not produce as much energy when burned as gasoline, and that could reduce gas mileage. Strain says it is a balancing act: "It should hopefully decrease the retail price of that gallon enough to compensate for that," he said.
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