Posted By Mark June 3, 2009
Coffee Giant Needs Less Caffeine and More Logic
If arachnophobia is fear of spiders and Dutchphobia is fear of the Dutch, then maybe consumers need to develop Starbuckphobia which is fear of irrational people selling coffee and goofy marketing ideas.
Reuters news service reports this week that Starbucks will revamp its menus later this month in order to lure more health conscious, or at least more gullible, consumers. The new campaign — which will be promoted with the tag “Real Food. Simply Delicious” – includes removing baked goods which contain high fructose corn sweetener or HFCS.
The marketing effort is misleading to consumers by implying products sweetened with other sweeteners, such as sugar, are healthier. High fructose corn syrup is made from corn, a natural grain product. High fructose corn syrup contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients or color additives and meets the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s requirements for use of the term “natural.”
“Consumers could be in for a jolt when they realize that there is no scientific basis to suggest that coffee cake made with sugar is ‘healthier’ than one made with high fructose corn syrup,” said Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association. “There is no nutritional difference between high fructose corn syrup and sugar. It is the calories that count.”
Removing preservatives I understand, and hey I get adding oatmeal and smoothies to the menu. Both are darned tasty and nutritious but what gives with HFCS? Maybe it’s just the name that doesn’t sound as friendly as sugar? Corn sweeteners would work but the anti-folks like to hammer on the more intimidating HFCS.
A few minority researchers and dietary rogues have been vocal in blaming corn sweeteners for the obesity epidemic in America. As with many issue contrary positions seem to be the ones getting the headlines.
Then we wonder why Americans are rapidly getting a bad case of Cibophobia- Fear of food. Interestingly, in the wake of the announcement Shares in Starbucks ended down 10 cents at $14.82. Probably no connection but the news gave me a happy buzz…like, well Starbucks.
For more information go to: http://www.sweetsurprise.com/
Posted By Mark June 2, 2009
Truth, Justice and Eating Worms
In case you missed the news flash….the Wall Street Journal likes ethanol about as much as eating worms. They maintain a drumbeat of negative misinformation regarding our favorite renewable fuel despite yeoman like efforts by the National Corn Growers Association and many academics and scientists to educate them.
On any subject you can find a naysayer, some even with a reputable sounding job title. But when a preponderance of third-party, unbiased folks say you are off base that constitutes an agenda or at least bad judgment. Today’s opinion piece in the WSJ is a perfect case in point.
Ethanol is the right choice for America. It works, ask any Indy driver. It burns cleaner, ask any chemists, and it’s made here in the U.S. Hopefully, American jobs, 494,000 of them, and national security need no explanation. In a recent letter to the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition, President Obama noted improved energy efficiency combined with biofuels “is the primary near-term option for insulating consumers against future oil shocks and for lowering the transportation sector’s carbon footprint.”
Insinuating ethanol is a major factor in food prices is also plain silly. Last year’s high oil prices pushed up food prices. Remove the spin from the WSJ take on the Congressional Budget Office study and it says corn-based ethanol was responsible for only a fraction of food inflation between 2007 and 2008, representing 0.5 to 0.8 percentage points of the 5.1 percent food price increase.
The CBO report notes 85 to 90 percent of the increase in food prices over the measured period came from something other than corn and ethanol. Perhaps an enterprising journalist should be asking why food prices have not declined despite plenty of cheap corn and drastically lower oil prices.
While our reliance on foreign oil is sucking the life’s blood out of our economy, ethanol generated $11.9 billion in tax revenue for the federal government and an additional $9 billion for state and local governments. Makes the government incentives for ethanol production seem like a sound investment.
Record production is good news. Yield increases alone are meeting our needs for ethanol. We should be embracing the productivity gains made possible through technology and innovation on the nation’s farms. Corn yields in the United States have doubled over the last 30 years, and will double again in the next 20 years. It’s not about food or fuel, but both.
Trying to make a tenuous connection between U.S. ethanol production and land use choices overseas in places like Brazil is also counterproductive. Anyone who has studied the issue will tell you clearing of land in South America is about pure economics and is fueled by efforts to transfer land to the poor as a social program, petro dollars, or timber and mining profits.
Until thought leaders, like the news media, begin to understand this, the rainforests will remain at risk, and we will continue to hold back the ethanol industry in the U.S. which has real environmental contributions to make. The vast majority of Americans understands this and survey after survey show they support alternative fuel sources like ethanol.
Posted By Cindy June 1, 2009
It’s June 1 and according to USDA, 93 percent of the corn crop is now planted, about four percent below average for this time of year. Mostly everyone is done or at least over 90 percent – except Illinois, Indiana and North Dakota, which all got about 20 percent more planted last week.
Illinois now has 82 percent of the corn crop planted, Indiana stands at 78 percent and North Dakota at 84 percent. Meanwhile, soybean planting is running significantly behind in all of those states at this point and corn emergence is only about half of what it should be by now. But, nationwide, emergence is at 73 percent which is two percent ahead of last year at this time, although still behind the five year average by 13 percent.
Despite that, the experts are optimistic. “As we proved last year, we can’t really write this off until the planting season’s over, and we have seen a good turnaround in corn,” said USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey. “We are looking at a good crop despite all the problems getting it in the ground with 70 percent rated good to excellent and only four percent poor to very poor.” Last year at this time just 63 percent was rated good to excellent.
Posted By Cindy June 1, 2009
The Missouri Corn Growers Association is urging farmers in the state to send their seed tags to the governor in support of ethanol.
Reinforce the importance of a strong corn and ethanol industry in Missouri. Grab a seed tag – or five – and use them to write the governor. This is one way to illustrate the economic impact of corn growers and make a strong statement of support for the incentive fund. We need you to do your part in flooding the governor’s office with seed tags. Please fill one out for each member of your operation and family with a stake in ethanol production and strong corn prices.
Missouri’s $381 million economic stimulus bill contains $23 million for the ethanol incentive fund, enough money to completely fulfill the state’s commitment to all Missouri ethanol plants. If signed by the governor, the measure will deliver a significant capital injection in
this struggling economy, solidifying a strong foundation for Missouri’s farmer-owned ethanol plants.
Posted By Ken June 1, 2009
Just in case you missed it over at the Corn Farmers Coalition Web site, a series of farmer profiles offers a good look at modern agriculture. And guess what … it’s still all about the family.
Posted By Cindy June 1, 2009
Research is reinforcing the economic, environmental benefits of corn cobs as source for cellulosic ethanol.
According to POET, which is already producing cellulosic ethanol using corn cobs at a pilot plant in South Dakota, results from the first year of a multi-year study by Iowa State University indicate that removing corn cobs from fields for use in cellulosic ethanol production appears to have no substantial impact on soil nutrient content.
“This information reinforces previous research showing that corn cobs are a sustainable, environmentally friendly feedstock for producing cellulosic ethanol, and removing them from the field will not alter soil quality,” said Scott Weishaar, POET Vice President of Commercial Development. “We are committed to thoroughly evaluating our process to ensure the benefits of cellulosic ethanol are fully realized.”
Previous research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that cobs contain only 2-3 percent of the measured nutrients of the above-ground corn plant. In addition, the Draft Regulatory Impact Analysis released this month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency touts the economic benefit of using corn stover, which includes corn cobs, in making cellulosic ethanol.
“… corn stover was chosen as the most economical agricultural feedstock to be used to produce ethanol in order to meet the 16 [billion gallon] EISA (Energy Independence and Security Act) cellulosic biofuel requirement. We estimate that by 2022 greater than 400 million tons of corn stover could be produced. Approximately 82 million tons would be needed to produce 7.8 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuel that our modeling projects to come from corn stover by 2022.”
POET plans to have a 25 million gallons per year commercial cellulosic ethanol plant using corn stover in production in Emmetsburg, Iowa by 2011.
