Biofuels threaten cheap beer in Germany
First, tortillas in Mexico, now beer in Germany will cost more as crop yields shift toward biofuel production. Brewers say they have no choice but to pass along the higher costs of barley, which has nearly doubled in price in a year. There was a poor harvest last year but many fields have been dedicated to biofuel production this year. Experts say the amount of land for barley is decreasing about five percent. With so much land going to biofuels, the beer makers want the government to stop offering subsidies.[Source: AFP via servihoo.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
evlover 10:36AM (7/28/2009)
To Keith's list of great electric car websites i would add:
gas2.org
http://www.evworld.com
http://www.twocentspermile.com
and
http://www.treehugger.com
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Jimmy 1:47PM (4/23/2007)
First, US Ethanol production has no impact on Mexican tortilla prices.
Second, why not give the details. This article is about German farmers planting more rapeseed for biodiesel production rather than lower priced barley. The farmers contend that in the past, brewers had driven down the price of barley to the point where it was no longer profitable to grow.
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1985 Gripen 2:14PM (4/23/2007)
Mr. Magda, you are being extremely unprofessional repeating the SAME false information Autobloggreen has been corrected on in the past.
As the comment above AND at least three other comments in other posts have shown, ethanol is in NO WAY increasing the cost of tortillas in Mexico. You're repeating anti-U.S. propaganda by a nutjob in Mexico with an agenda.
Actually READ what people have to say on posts before repeating the same false info over and over.
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Peter 4:23PM (4/23/2007)
Can anybody share a source for their information about the effect of ethanol on corn prices in Mexico?
I'm new to this discussion and would simply like to know.
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1985 Gripen 6:24PM (4/23/2007)
The original post on the subject at Autobloggreen linked to the following article: http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=59&ItemID=12030
However, as you'll see in comments at that post many people took issue with the "facts" in this article. It just didn't make sense. I'm not familiar with "Znet.org", so I don't know how legit (if at all) their site is. The author of the supposed allegation that ethanol is causing corn prices to go up is hawking a book on the Mexican tortilla industry so he will benefit financially by alleging this. "USA bad" sells.
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1985 Gripen 6:25PM (4/23/2007)
Oops, sorry. Here's the original post with the comments I referred to:
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/02/12/u-s-ethanol-industry-raising-prices-corn-tortilla-prices/
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Jimmy 9:09PM (4/23/2007)
The quote I had posted in my comment to the first ABG story on this is from Economist.com, Jan 19th 2007 article entitled "Monopolies and tortillas".
Key facts are that Mexican tortillas are made from Mexican grown white corn. Ethanol is made from yellow corn (used to feed livestock and not people). Despite NAFTA, Mexico still has a high tariff on imported corn from the USA. The quick fix by the Mexican government was to allow corn from USA to be imported without the tariff.
Another quote from the Economist:
The [Mexican] government quickly admitted that the [tortilla price] increase was due to “monopolistic practices” and “speculation” by distributors and other intermediaries, and not to economic fundamentals. President Calderón on January 11th ordered his cabinet to take any measures necessary to lower corn prices and thereby prevent damage to consumers. The minister of economy, Eduardo Sojo, immediately approved a large increase in corn imports, to allow in 650,000 tons of the grain free of import duties. The government lifted price controls on tortillas in 1999, and is unable to directly fix the cost of the food, but some legislators are demanding a return to price regulation.
The government also ordered the Federal Competition Commission (Comisión Federal de Competencia, or CFC), the nation’s anti-trust authority, to initiate an investigation into anti-competitive actions by the few large corn and tortilla companies that dominate the industry. One company alone, Gruma, controls 70% of the tortilla and cornmeal market.
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1985 Gripen 10:05PM (4/23/2007)
Yes Jimmy, but that's not as sensational a story as the one Autobloggreen keeps perpetuating, so I fully expect to see them repeat the false info in the future.
The facts can be boring.
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kirbyks 8:21PM (4/26/2007)
Cheap beer in Germany? Has the writer ever been there? Like gasoline, beer is much cheaper here in the good 'ol U.S. of A.
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Janet L. 8:47PM (4/26/2007)
Another slam at Unca Sam, benefactor of humanity. When are those Mexican ass's ever going to grow up and accept the responsibility for their own problems? Answer: never.
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Roger 8:54PM (4/26/2007)
Where is my confirmation email for my post?
Again, who gives a crap about Mexican tortillas, let 'em eat cake with their beans.
Corn diversion to ethanol is going to cost us plenty. Meat costs and irrigation water usage is going to sky rocket.
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Ann 11:21PM (4/26/2007)
I hope that there will be more investment in using food production by-products for making ethanol, for example, the pulp and peel waste from orange juice producers. It would reduce the amount of farm land needed, and recycle a waste product. Two birds!
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chris 11:31PM (4/26/2007)
So who is responsible for all this disinformation,Big oil I bet.
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Reece 12:00AM (4/27/2007)
So, drink wine and not beer. Maybe now farmers will make enough to keep them in farming and prevent them from having to sell the farm so a strip mall or subdivision can be built. Every time a farmer's field is turned into urban sprawl, it means people are living farther away from the city and driving farther to get to work thereby increasing the need for fuel and contributing more to greenhouse gas emissions and dependency on foreign oil. I'd rather have a corn field than a strip mall. Drink wine or pay more for beer. A pretty good trade off considering the alternatives.
Reece
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chris 11:39PM (4/26/2007)
Biofuels can be made from other non edible plants,like switchgrass for example.There is more unused farmland in the U.S.A.Lets put some farmers back in business.Stop crying about the so called negatives and lets make an alternative to the arab oil czars work.
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Miller Lite Mary 12:54AM (4/27/2007)
I agree with Reece 100%! I like my beer and I'll continue to support my favorite brew. If the cost goes up AGAIN, I'll just suck it up (literally) and continue to visit my local pub to see friends and socialize. Since the little pub is between my house and any store that I'd shop at, the cost of fuel is something I don't consider a part of my trip to the pup. I still have to eat and live and if I stop on my way home, the extra quarter a bottle or glass is a small price to pay for "going green" when you consider that I could be just handing it over to the government for increased taxes!
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BUCK 1:10AM (4/27/2007)
BEER IS BETTER IN GERMANY, THEY DONT EXPORT IT THOUGH. WHY NOT TRY KUDZU FOR FUEL, WE GOT PLENTY OF IT!!!
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Keith 1:30AM (4/27/2007)
Well, I think people need to go look at these web sites...And watch the movie ("Who Killed The Electric Car") There are Thousands of people out there right now driving Electric Cars and not paying a dime for Gas or Oil and they are not charging their Electric cars with Coal or hooked up to the "Grid"...They power their own cars and homes with Solar, Wind, Turbine, Water or Wave power that is all Free!
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Or www.teslamotors.com who is SOLD OUT of there 2007 models that sold for $92,000 each and will out race any other car on the road today!
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evlover 10:36AM (7/28/2009)
also, http://www.twocentspermile.com
tony 1:40AM (4/27/2007)
I LIKE TORTILLAS... and Bio-Fuel!!! beer not so much
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