The Wall Street Journal reports that the ever increasing prices of corn farming have led farmers to project this year's planting estimates at 86 million acres -- eight percent less than last year's figure."Corn prices have skyrocketed in recent years, helped by the burgeoning ethanol industry, which turns the crop into fuel, and rising world-wide demand for food. The higher prices have hurt poultry, beef and pork companies, who use corn to feed their animals."
Here's a thought -- how about feeding these animals the foods they are meant to eat?
In the case of cows, not only is a corn diet detrimental to their digestive systems, it also results in meat higher in saturated fat and omega-6 fatty acids than that of cows subsisting exclusively on a grass diet.
The repercussions also affect our wallets.
"Corn already is trading near its record-high price of $5.70 a bushel, more than double the price of two years ago."
Meat and dairy prices will continue to rise.
Additionally, since a large portion of this country's food supply is based around corn oil and corn-based syrups, expect bread and convenience snacks to also take a hit.
For more information on this very complex topic, I direct you to a highly informative 2002 interview with corn guru Michael Pollan.
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