I skimmed the article, but I did not see mention of the U.S.'s petro-chemical-based agriculture. Without the outsized contributions that petro-chemicals make t

I skimmed the article, but I did not see mention of the U.S.'s petro-chemical-based agriculture. Without the outsized contributions that petro-chemicals make to the production process of corn and corn syrup (engine fuel, fertilizer, distillation, etc.), corn syrup and HFCS production would be much more directly (as opposed to externalized costs) expensive. I guess we should also toss soil erosion into the mix. Productive topsoil is a finite resource, and modern agriculture -- while it has improved somewhat, recently -- is expensive in this regard.