Center for Strategic Communication

National Defense Magazine quoted ASP’s Andrew Holland in an article discussing the link between U.S. energy policy and food prices. According to several studies, U.S. policy to require the production of corn ethanol is diverting food resources to fuel, driving up food prices. This undermines security around the world. However, Andrew Holland disputes the correlation, saying ethanol has only a marginal impact on food prices. From the article:

Andrew Holland, a senior fellow at the American Security Project, disagrees with the findings of the NECSI study regarding the impact of corn-based ethanol on high food costs. In late 2007 and early 2008, there was a fast spike in the price of food, and riots broke out all across Africa. But those developments were not connected to U.S. production of corn-based ethanol, he says. “Corn ethanol is important for America’s domestic energy security,” Holland says. “If you keep the price low, it undercuts local production. That’s a simplistic view. But there’s not that much correlation between corn ethanol and the price of food,” he adds.

There is, however, a much stronger link between the price of food and the price of oil, and between price of food and bad weather,” Holland says. “It’s not as simple as the United States keeping corn cheap.”

To read the full article, click here.