1. Corn is part of the energy solution!

2. It is a Food AND Fuel discussion, not an either/or decision- every bit of the corn kernel is used

3. Ethanol is a homegrown fuel produced here.

It is good for the environment, lessens our dependence on foreign oil, and helps our economy.

Environment:

§         Ethanol is renewable

§         Ethanol has been proven to decrease harmful emissions

§         Farmers are stewards of the land they use to produce crops- using technology, equipment, and conservation to increase their efficiency

Energy Independence:

§         Ethanol saves billions of dollars-

§         Oil has increased over 4,000% in the last 50 years, while corn prices have increase just over 200%

Economy:

§         Ethanol saves consumers around 45cents per gallon

§         If ½ of the ethanol in the US was replaced it would increase your pump prices to $5.00 today

§         Iowa is one of only a few state who are not in recession due to a striving agricultural economy

§         Americans only spend 10% of their disposable income on food and that is changing according to recent reports

§         Encouraged by higher commodity prices, farmers in Thailand and Vietnam are planting more crops and farm wages have increase in many countries