Originally Posted by bragi

I know I recently criticized these kinds of threads recently, but, again, bicycling without any kind of context is the utility forum. So here it is:

I recently read that 1/3 of this year's corn crop, the largest corn crop in the US in a long time, is going to biofuels production. A lot of land that used to be used to grow other crops has been converted to corn production to achieve this result. Given the high price of food and the growing number of starving people in the world, this strikes me as absolutely immoral, if not actually criminal. I have three questions for anyone out there who knows more than me:

1. WTF? Who came up with this insane idea?

2. Who uses all the corn-based ethanol they're apparently so eager to produce? I know a few people who use biodiesel made from used vegetable oil, but not a single person who's ever used corn-based ethanol in their entire lives.

3. What political action can be done to end this evil stupidity? (A recent vote in Congress increased subsidies for biofuels, but ended tax credits for wind and solar, which is perhaps the greatest proof ever that Democrats are at least as stupid, venal and cowardly as their Republican opponents.) I can see some sense in ethanol, if it's made from plants that can be grown on marginal land, but corn? It's not even a very efficient source of energy. This has got to be one of the greatest pork projects in history.