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“Only 1 percent of all corn grown in this country is eaten by humans. The rest is No. 2 yellow field corn, which is indigestible to humans and used in animal fe

“Only 1 percent of all corn grown in this country is eaten by humans. The rest is No. 2 yellow field corn, which is indigestible to humans and used in animal feed, food supplements and ethanol.“ https://www.wired.com/2011/06/five-ethanol-myths-busted-2/ https://www.wired.com/2011/06/five-ethanol-myths-busted-2/

qeternity 4y ago
This is such a naive take. Most corn is used as feedstock. This is hugely important to production of animal protein, which humans eat. Just because we don't eat the corn directly, doesn't mean we aren't eating the corn. This would be like saying "only 1% of water is actually consumed by humans, so we don't need to worry about water shortages". The world just isn't that simple.
- 0daystock 4y ago
  It's not naive. It takes 10 times more corn to produce animal protein than it would have produced usable plant food for humans.
  - qeternity 4y ago
    What does that have to do with anything?? If you're taking inputs that are used to produce food (feedstock, ferts, acreage etc) away from food production, this will create inflationary price pressures. Source: career commodities trader
    - 0daystock 4y ago
      Exactly. We're taking 90% of usable food input and feeding it through an extremely inefficient plant-to-animal protein "converter". This is not only causing inflationary food pressure - it's directly responsible for hunger, environmental degradation and unimaginable pollution.
      - qeternity 4y ago
        Fine, then argue that there are better ways to produce food. This has nothing to do with ethanol mandate. Stop with these logical fallacies.
- drewcon 4y ago
  Are you suggesting someone is diverting feedstock corn to ethanol corn in such a way that we won’t be able to feed livestock? That seems like it will be a popular political move, you should tell them.
  - qeternity 4y ago
    There are two resulting forces: 1. Prices increase, incentivizing additional plantings to offset this new demand, and feedstock supply is unaffected. 2. Feedstock supply is reduced, and we raise less livestock. The reality will be somewhere in the middle.
prpl 4y ago
this is a naive take. All corn is edible, though usually processed like it has been since corn was maize - ground or nixtamalized. And that’s how yellow corn is also used, to make tortilla chips and taco shells. You just aren’t going to grill it and eat it off the cob. Saying it isn’t edible is like saying cassava isn’t edible.
prpl 4y ago
For a more nuanced take on the indigestible claim: https://www.livescience.com/why-humans-cannot-digest-corn.html https://www.livescience.com/why-humans-cannot-digest-corn.ht... But yes, No. 2 yellow field corn is a food for humans - just not in its rawest form.

qeternity 4y ago

This is such a naive take. Most corn is used as feedstock. This is hugely important to production of animal protein, which humans eat. Just because we don't eat the corn directly, doesn't mean we aren't eating the corn. This would be like saying "only 1% of water is actually consumed by humans, so we don't need to worry about water shortages". The world just isn't that simple.

0daystock 4y ago
It's not naive. It takes 10 times more corn to produce animal protein than it would have produced usable plant food for humans.
- qeternity 4y ago
  What does that have to do with anything?? If you're taking inputs that are used to produce food (feedstock, ferts, acreage etc) away from food production, this will create inflationary price pressures. Source: career commodities trader
  - 0daystock 4y ago
    Exactly. We're taking 90% of usable food input and feeding it through an extremely inefficient plant-to-animal protein "converter". This is not only causing inflationary food pressure - it's directly responsible for hunger, environmental degradation and unimaginable pollution.
    - qeternity 4y ago
      Fine, then argue that there are better ways to produce food. This has nothing to do with ethanol mandate. Stop with these logical fallacies.
drewcon 4y ago
Are you suggesting someone is diverting feedstock corn to ethanol corn in such a way that we won’t be able to feed livestock? That seems like it will be a popular political move, you should tell them.
- qeternity 4y ago
  There are two resulting forces: 1. Prices increase, incentivizing additional plantings to offset this new demand, and feedstock supply is unaffected. 2. Feedstock supply is reduced, and we raise less livestock. The reality will be somewhere in the middle.

prpl 4y ago

this is a naive take. All corn is edible, though usually processed like it has been since corn was maize - ground or nixtamalized. And that’s how yellow corn is also used, to make tortilla chips and taco shells. You just aren’t going to grill it and eat it off the cob. Saying it isn’t edible is like saying cassava isn’t edible.

prpl 4y ago

For a more nuanced take on the indigestible claim: https://www.livescience.com/why-humans-cannot-digest-corn.html https://www.livescience.com/why-humans-cannot-digest-corn.ht... But yes, No. 2 yellow field corn is a food for humans - just not in its rawest form.