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Other problem. When there is a need, that corn can be diverted from fuel to food.

by Loughla 3y ago

huytersd 3y ago
The type of corn grown for ethanol is basically inedible (maybe besides conversion into HFCS)
- ianburrell 3y ago
  Dent corn is perfectly edible. The white variety is used in cornmeal, corn chips, and tortillas. Yellow is more used for animal feed and industrial use. But it is edible since it is pure starch. Also, except for emergencies, the corn wouldn't be diverted but the farmers would plant a different variety or different crop the next year.
- FriedPickles 3y ago
  It's great for making moonshine.
  - Loughla 3y ago
    Ethanol
- Loughla 3y ago
  It is starch at its base, and oils. These are used in food.
dylan604 3y ago
food for whom? not all corn is equal, and isn't just a switch from fuel/food for people.
- deleted 3y ago
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- deleted 3y ago
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- Loughla 3y ago
  Animals and people. Starch and oil are starch and oil. It's just common dent corn. There are varieties that lend themselves to biofuels and plastics, but they're still starch and oil at their base.
  - dylan604 3y ago
    have you ever had corn that was not intended to be sold as food to humans? it's not good. if that's the only corn you've ever had, then i could see why one might not like corn. i imagine the situation where the first time they are give "good" corn, the clouds part, the ray of light hits them as the chorus of angels rings out. it's that different.
    - Loughla 3y ago
      You don't want to eat field corn unless it's very young, as roasting ears. Then it's goood. I'm not talking about eating it just as corn. It's starch. It's oil. It's food component parts to use to make things humans enjoy. Corn is everywhere and in everything. In the US at least.
      - dylan604 3y ago
        well, i'm replying directly to "that corn can be diverted from fuel to food" which sounds like you're walking back from a bit. if you want corn to not be food, you have to make that decision early. you can always let the food corn become other use, but not the other way around. there are also other crops that are better suited for starch/oil. so ultimately, to me, any use of corn other than food is basically just finding a way to subsidize the farmers. i'm not opposed to that, but if we're paying for it anyways, why not grow something better suited for purpose rather than just shoehorning corn as the solution?
        ben_w 3y ago
        To me, it seemed they were consistently saying the equivalent of: If there is a year where nationwide farm output is, due to bad luck, significantly below average, we can take the crops that were going to make biofuel and use them to make cooking oil. (IIRC farm output is always somewhat irregular, so this is a fairly plausible scenario). If that's what's being defended against, it doesn't matter so much if it's a bit meh, it matters that you'd convinced farmers to plant the crops before they knew they'd be eaten. A government can also pay for overproduction of normal crops, but might want to reduce the cost of that by asking for a dual use crop. I'm still not convinced doing this with corn is good, but it's at least the start of an argument that might convince me.

Other problem. When there is a need, that corn can be diverted from fuel to food.

huytersd 3y ago

The type of corn grown for ethanol is basically inedible (maybe besides conversion into HFCS)

ianburrell 3y ago
Dent corn is perfectly edible. The white variety is used in cornmeal, corn chips, and tortillas. Yellow is more used for animal feed and industrial use. But it is edible since it is pure starch. Also, except for emergencies, the corn wouldn't be diverted but the farmers would plant a different variety or different crop the next year.
FriedPickles 3y ago
It's great for making moonshine.
- Loughla 3y ago
  Ethanol
Loughla 3y ago
It is starch at its base, and oils. These are used in food.

dylan604 3y ago

food for whom? not all corn is equal, and isn't just a switch from fuel/food for people.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Loughla 3y ago
Animals and people. Starch and oil are starch and oil. It's just common dent corn. There are varieties that lend themselves to biofuels and plastics, but they're still starch and oil at their base.
- dylan604 3y ago
  have you ever had corn that was not intended to be sold as food to humans? it's not good. if that's the only corn you've ever had, then i could see why one might not like corn. i imagine the situation where the first time they are give "good" corn, the clouds part, the ray of light hits them as the chorus of angels rings out. it's that different.
  - Loughla 3y ago
    You don't want to eat field corn unless it's very young, as roasting ears. Then it's goood. I'm not talking about eating it just as corn. It's starch. It's oil. It's food component parts to use to make things humans enjoy. Corn is everywhere and in everything. In the US at least.
    - dylan604 3y ago
      well, i'm replying directly to "that corn can be diverted from fuel to food" which sounds like you're walking back from a bit. if you want corn to not be food, you have to make that decision early. you can always let the food corn become other use, but not the other way around. there are also other crops that are better suited for starch/oil. so ultimately, to me, any use of corn other than food is basically just finding a way to subsidize the farmers. i'm not opposed to that, but if we're paying for it anyways, why not grow something better suited for purpose rather than just shoehorning corn as the solution?
      - ben_w 3y ago
        To me, it seemed they were consistently saying the equivalent of: If there is a year where nationwide farm output is, due to bad luck, significantly below average, we can take the crops that were going to make biofuel and use them to make cooking oil. (IIRC farm output is always somewhat irregular, so this is a fairly plausible scenario). If that's what's being defended against, it doesn't matter so much if it's a bit meh, it matters that you'd convinced farmers to plant the crops before they knew they'd be eaten. A government can also pay for overproduction of normal crops, but might want to reduce the cost of that by asking for a dual use crop. I'm still not convinced doing this with corn is good, but it's at least the start of an argument that might convince me.