From an interview with Lester R. Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute:
The ethanol advocates like to say “we don’t eat much corn,” which is true. But in Mexico and some Central American countries, it is the food staple. It’s even more important as a source of feed. Our refrigerators are stuffed with corn: milk, eggs, cheese, chicken, pork, beef, yogurt, ice cream—these are all corn products. The risk is that by converting so much of our grain into fuel for cars, we will drive up the price of grain and create chaos in the world grain markets. This could mean urban food riots in scores of low- and middle-income countries around the world. We’re already seeing this in Mexico with the tortilla demonstrations.
What’s actually happening in the world now is that the price of grain is moving up towards its oil equivalent value. That means that the price of grain is now being set by the price of oil. If at any time the food value of a commodity is less than the fuel value, the market will move it into the fuel economy—that’s what the market does. So if the price of oil jumps from $60 to $80, the price of food will also jump. I don’t think most people realize yet that the price of oil is going to dictate the price of food.
Seven Questions: The Ethanol Effect (Foreign Policy)
Massive Diversion of U.S. Grain to Fuel Cars is Raising World Food Prices
(Earth Policy Institute)
(Image of tortilla protest from World magazine: Romancing the corn)