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> The remainder is consumed by animals and by > industrial processes. Grain raised for livestock use is only for livestock use. It's not like "corn" is all t

by pyre 14y ago

> The remainder is consumed by animals and by > industrial processes. Grain raised for livestock use is only for livestock use. It's not like "corn" is all the same thing. The corn that is used for livestock is not the same corn that you buy at the store (on the cob or in a can). It's tasteless, and so far as I know, not desirable for human consumption. You can't treat all of the corn produced as usable for all uses that corn is put towards. Also, if livestock is what regulates the grain market, then why do grain-producers get such large (non-ethanol-related) subsidies?

evgen 14y ago
The varieties of corn produced for each use are different but they are completely fungible. If livestock is culled due to higher feed costs from diminished production this year then farmers will plant more human-edible corn next year (along with more soybeans and other alternative crops) because there is going to be less demand for dent corn to feed the livestock. The system balances itself.
bryanlarsen 14y ago
"The corn that is used for livestock is not the same corn that you buy at the store (on the cob or in a can). It's tasteless, and so far as I know, not desirable for human consumption" No, but it is suitable for turning into meal, which is how corn is consumed in the third world, or into HFCS which is how corn is consumed in the first world. For other grains, it mostly works in the other direction in normal years. For example, a farmer may try to grow wheat suitable for bread, but it rains while the crop is in windrow, making it unsuitable for bread due to its low protein content. It's graded as "feed" and fed to animals in a normal year. However, you can still make bread from it, it just doesn't rise as well. "why do grain-producers get such large (non-ethanol-related) subsidies?" Because farmer's causes are sympathetic to voters for various different reasons. (historical attachment, enjoyment of low food prices, stereotyping of farmers as close to the land, lower populations in rural districts, and many others)

by pyre 14y ago

evgen 14y ago

The varieties of corn produced for each use are different but they are completely fungible. If livestock is culled due to higher feed costs from diminished production this year then farmers will plant more human-edible corn next year (along with more soybeans and other alternative crops) because there is going to be less demand for dent corn to feed the livestock. The system balances itself.

bryanlarsen 14y ago

"The corn that is used for livestock is not the same corn that you buy at the store (on the cob or in a can). It's tasteless, and so far as I know, not desirable for human consumption" No, but it is suitable for turning into meal, which is how corn is consumed in the third world, or into HFCS which is how corn is consumed in the first world. For other grains, it mostly works in the other direction in normal years. For example, a farmer may try to grow wheat suitable for bread, but it rains while the crop is in windrow, making it unsuitable for bread due to its low protein content. It's graded as "feed" and fed to animals in a normal year. However, you can still make bread from it, it just doesn't rise as well. "why do grain-producers get such large (non-ethanol-related) subsidies?" Because farmer's causes are sympathetic to voters for various different reasons. (historical attachment, enjoyment of low food prices, stereotyping of farmers as close to the land, lower populations in rural districts, and many others)