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snash222 t1_j0gcu6n wrote

I wonder what percent of farmland in the US is devoted to wasteful ethanol production.

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ta137885532266888 t1_j0gl9rq wrote

Less than you’d think. Ethanol plants are slowing down or shifting into different products like making alcohol

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Jrowe47 t1_j0gtvby wrote

Ethanol is alcohol.

Subsidized corn for federally mandated fuel additives is still increasing in the US - like other subsidized crops, it will continue to increase until the money goes away.

The drinking alcohol piece of the puzzle is a niche endeavor, you can make more per acre growing biofuel with less fuss.

Voting out the subsidies is the only way to decrease the use of ethanol for fuel. It's not an efficient or cheap source of fuel, but the government pays for it and corn is easy to grow. Roughly 40% of all US corn goes to biofuel production. The percentage might max out, but the total amounts will increase until we stop paying more than it's worth.

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