Corn – When is Food No Longer Food?

Farmers growing corn for ethanol are no longer farmers in any traditional sense; they are part of the oil industry. It is now being reported that the millions of pounds of nitrogen-based fertilizer needed to grow the corn are entering the Mississippi and going out into the gulf wherein they create a 7,900-square-mile “dead zone” void of oxygen wherein fish, crabs and shrimp suffocate and hostile algae grow.

Idiots on Capital Hill, with the full support of the Bush administration, just passed a bill that will dramatically boost ethanol use, making this problem much worse for years to come.

There are other side effects in the agricultural market, such as driving up the cost of food as it is now more expensive to feed animals. Then there is the issue that this means big profits for genetically modified seed producers like Monsanto. The issue of the safety of GMO foods like corn has never been verified and is an incredibly dangerous experiment on our entire food supply and the health of humans.

Maybe it is a blessing in disguise that corn can be used for fuel. It is no longer safe to eat. Let’s just hope that winds don’t blow too much corn pollen into the neighboring crops and cross-contaminate what is left of a real food supply.