Has the ethanol boom led to the rash of E. coli-contaminated beef recalls?
It's possible. Here's how:
The demand for ethanol, the fuel additive and purported gas substitute, has been higher than ever because Congress started requiring a higher percentage of ethanol in the nation's food supply. As has been well documented, the increased corn production has enriched chemical fertilizer and pesticide companies, increased agricultural runoff has fed a near-record dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico and the diversion of corn from food and feed to fuel has contributed to a worldwide run-up in food commodity prices. (These are only the start to corn-based ethanol's problems; if we planted all U.S. cropland in corn, it would still only supply about 20% of our demand, and requires so much fossil fuel fertilizer that we'd still be contributing nearly as much to global warming and importing loads of energy.)
The high price of corn has also made it hard on conventional -- if that's the right word -- beef ranchers, who have for decades converted cheap corn into profits by feeding it to cows on crowded feed lots.
It's already been reported that some ranchers have turned to the waste from ethanol plants to feed their cows, and that the switch makes the cows produce even more E. coli bacteria ...
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