Rising corn prices affect livestock production and prices. Too bad.

[Guest guest]

Another reason to be vegan! Consumers will feel the impact of higher corn prices, not just in the produce isle but in a range of products. Beef, dairy and poultry prices are likely to rise as animal farmers rely on corn for feed. "Four dollars a bushel causes a lot of pain," said Richard Lobb, a spokesman for the National Chicken Council, who estimated that the price rise has already bumped up wholesale chicken prices 6 cents per pound. "It ripples right across the economy." As the price of corn rises, farmers have greater incentive to plant more of it and increase supply. Terry Roggensack, a grain specialist at the Hightower Report, a commodities newsletter, is seeing farmers planting between 6 to 10

million more acres of corn this year on top of last year's 78.3 million acres. Just another reason to go vegan and rejoice in a vegan lifestyle. Maybe if foods stopped putting corn syrup in EVERYTHING that would help and be healthier for sure. I love that the farmers feel the crunch but at the cost of more land is horrible. We'll no doubt be importing corn from China and ending up in the hospital. I have bolded and underlined some key points. Calming ethanol-crazed corn prices With alternative fuel in the limelight, the cost of corn has skyrocketed, but experts say the free market should keep food prices in check. By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer January 30 2007: 3:54 PM EST NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Ever since President Bush proposed a four-fold increase in "alternative fuels" during this year's State of the Union address, the media has been abuzz with doomsday reports on what this will do to the price of corn. But how much higher corn prices will go, and how much more of an effect they will have on food costs, is a matter of debate. Special Reportfull coverage Senate drills Bush official over oil prices Oil jumps $4 as supplies fall New fight over car efficiency rules for energy regulators Corn demand and prices began surging over a year ago when Bush first touted ethanol in his 2006 State of the Union speech. Corn is the main ingredient in ethanol, the primary alternative fuel in the United States and rising demand has sent supplies to their lowest levels in 34 years according to Phil Flynn, a senior market analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago, a commodities trading firm. "Ethanol is just lighting the [corn]

market on fire," Flynn said. Bush takes his energy plan on the road The front-month contract for a bushel of corn (56 pounds) on the Chicago Board of Trade has jumped from $1.86 at the end of 2005 to over $4 today, said Flynn. Pain at the supermarket: Call for mandatory alternative fuel use to grow - from 7.5 billion gallons currently to 35 billion gallons Consumers will feel the impact of higher corn prices, not just in the produce isle but in a range of products. Beef and poultry prices are

likely to rise as animal farmers rely on corn for feed. Soft drink prices may also jump since drink makers widely use corn syrup as a sweetener. "Four dollars a bushel causes a lot of pain," said Richard Lobb, a spokesman for the National Chicken Council, who estimated that the price rise has already bumped up wholesale chicken prices 6 cents per pound. "It ripples right across the economy." "It would be truly historic to have grain prices stay so high for so many years," said Ryan Davies, a trader at Titan Commodities in San Diego. "I think they will maintain a high level, but there is a cap as to how high they can go." Chicken Little scenario? Simple economics is the main reason cited for debunking the "corn-out-of-control" scenario. As the price of corn rises, farmers have greater incentive to plant more of it and increase supply. Terry Roggensack, a grain specialist at the Hightower Report, a commodities newsletter, is seeing farmers planting between 6 to 10 million more acres of corn this year on top of last year's 78.3 million acres. He says farmers need to plant near the top end of that range to meet projected demand. If they underproduce, corn prices could be set to rise even more. With corn at around $4 a bushel, ethanol producers could be forced out of business -

if corn prices keep climbing, while ethanol prices hover at around $2 a gallon. The Bush administration isn't too concerned about corn prices jumping. A White House spokesman told CNNMoney.com that if the proposals outlined in the State of the Union make it into law they will be sure to include a safety valve, which would suspend the mandatory ethanol requirement if corn prices rose too high. http://www.crueltyfree.com/ForTheAnimals