August 11, 2008 4:32PM

Fueling the Food Crisis

By Alexis Glick

This morning, Governor Jon Corzine of New Jersey joined me to discuss his frustration with the Environmental Protection Agency’s refusal to lower the production of nine billion gallons of ethanol and bio-diesel this year.

Corzine feels the EPA’s food-to-fuel mandate is a dangerous one. He’s not entirely opposed to the use of corn crops for some ethanol consumption, but he is opposed to the increased mandates year over year and the potential implications for the food we eat everyday.

As you probably have noticed, everything at the grocery store has been getting more expensive. A large reason for the rise in prices is the passage of a farm bill with mandatory minimum ethanol requirements and subsidies that require a certain percentage of corn crops be used for alternative energy. That mandate has wreaked havoc on corn crops and corn prices, although they have eased slightly after the recent devastating floods in the Midwest. Corn is used for just about everything we eat. Allocating a big percentage of it for ethanol use leaves less crops for food, and in turn, higher prices. Not pretty!

Governor Corzine also talked about his energy plans, his concerns about offshore drilling and, more specifically, whether he would consider it in New Jersey . He also discussed whether he would consider taking over for Treasury Secretary Paulson when Paulson’s tenure ends in January. He also talks about the “tough decisions” that he has had to make in New Jersey, given the difficult climate for municipalities. No surprise there! Take a look at how he’s handling these difficult situations.