The US Is Now Importing Corn

Don't blame the drought. Blame corn ethanol.

The problem here is the man-made element that is exacerbating the U.S. drought. There should be plenty of corn from U.S. reserves after recent record harvests for exports — 61 million metric tons in 2008 — were it not for the 2007 law that forces U.S. corn producers to turn ever greater percentages of U.S. corn into ethanol.

"As biofuel production develops and expands, it will continue to put pressure on U.S. corn and other feed grain production, exports, livestock feeding, and other domestic uses," the Agriculture Department says.

Today, 40% of our corn is consumed by ethanol making — the filling of gas tanks instead of stomachs. And another 20% is being destroyed by drought this year.