Ninety organizations are calling for an end to the $6 billion-dollar-a-year subsidy that encourages the production of ethanol biofuel from maize in the United States.
Ethanol makes up about 10 percent of the gasoline fueling cars in the United States, and almost all of it is made from maize.
"It's renewable and domestic, home-grown," says Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, who adds that this home-grown source of energy is reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
A 2007 U.S. law requires motor fuel to include renewable fuels. And – for blending in ethanol – gasoline makers get a tax credit that adds up to about $6 billion this year.
Skyrocketing production
Production of ethanol from maize, also called corn in the United States, has skyrocketed in just the last few years to meet the demand, says Purdue University economist Wally Tyner. "It's gone from 5 percent of our corn crop to almost 40 percent of our corn crop today. So it's a huge change."
Critics say that huge change is one of the reasons corn prices on global markets have risen 77 percent over 2010.
