Keep this one in your bookmarks for the next time someone tells you it’s too expensive to maintain a plant-based diet: Liz reports that the world’s biggest poultry killer is closing a processing plant and six distribution centres (slashing 1100 jobs in the progress), all due to the rising cost of corn.
The reason? Ethanol. The corn-based fuel is getting huge buzz, with 49 states offering subsidies and supports for increased ethanol usage. This is increasing overall demand for corn, which puts animal farmers in competition with the biofuel crowd. I’m still waiting for Coca-Cola and the rest of the high-fructose corn syrup peddlers to announce a hit.
Oh, and if farmers are making more corn in response to rising prices, that means that there’s less land available for other big crops like, say, soy. Soybeans are at their highest price since 1973.
This might result in some small increases in grocery produce prices, but remember, something like 80% of corn and soy crops are fed to cattle. I can handle a 10 cent increase in the cost of tofu, but can McDonald’s deal with a price increase in their ingredients without losing their appeal to price-sensitive consumers?
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