Does anyone have numbers on what oil and commodity prices would be without Corn based Ethanol?

[yourout]

I am trying to find information on what effect Corn based Ethanol has had on Oil/gas prices and speculation on how much commodity prices would have went up even if Corn demand had not gone up due to Ethanol.

I suspect a great deal of the commodity price increase is due to fuel costs and not necessarily to Ethanol.

[BeFree]

1. I suspect

We are getting ripped off, plain and simple. Probably billions of gallons of ethanol has replaced crude oil and with less consumption of gas, the oil giants are squeezing us for every penny they can while the squeezings good.

IOW, the way to break the backs of big oil is to reduce our demand. We have and will reduce more, and they know it.

[Ilsa]

2. Keep in mind with your reading

that a different type of corn (feed corn) is used for ethanol production. Yes, it may be affecting the cost of feed for animals, and whether farming will be for feed corn or corn for human consumption. I've heard of different conclusions from various studies.

[lapfog_1]

3. I think somebody from the UN estimated about 11 percent.

But he didn't back that up with an explanation of how he arrived at that number.

[IntravenousDemilo]

4. The big oil companies like ethanol, too.

They like it because it takes a whomping amount of petroleum-generated energy to produce a relatively smaller amount of ethanol.

[yourout]

5. The thing to keep in mind is that besides the ethanol the production byproducts are .....

used for animal feedstock.

If all you were getting out of the corn was a lesser amount of ethanol that it would be a not make economical sense to make ethanol. But the equation needs to include the value of all the by products.

Also with todays limited tillage methods and more fuel efficient equipment the energy required to grow corn is dropping.

[excess_3]

6. one barrel of petroleum --> 13 barrels of ethanol .n/t

[TheMadMonk]

9. One SUV tank full of ethanol = enough corn to feed a man for a year.

[JohnWxy]

7. BIG OIL'S STALL ON ETHANOL - Business Week magazine

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x143436

[yourout]

8. Great read......thanks!