AMI Revisits Food to Fuel Mandate
US - AMI, joined by a cross-section of America's environmental and hunger groups, food industry organizations, tax and budget groups and Hispanic community advocates, today issued an open letter calling on Congress to revisit the food-to-fuel mandates that are contributing to the growing global food crisis.
2 May 2008
2 minute read
The letter is being addressed to Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) who are holding today's Joint Economic Committee hearing on rising food prices.
The letter argues that while many factors impact food prices, the one factor that Congress has the power to control are “Congressional mandates and subsidies to turn food crops into fuel.”
The hearing, taking place today at 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, is the first Congressional hearing to address the crisis of rapidly increasing food prices.
Nineteen groups signed the open letter, which highlights the fact that “food-to-fuel” mandates have led to the diversion of over one quarter of America’s corn crop to ethanol production. The letter stresses that this amount is expected to increase to 40 percent by 2015, and therefore urge Congress “to continue examining food-to-fuel mandates in the context of national and global priorities.”
