On the Spot. (CNSNews.com) - Senators Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) told Cybercast News Service on Wednesday that they believe there is a connection between federally mandated consumption of ethanol, a gasoline additive made from corn, and world food shortages.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandates that increasing amounts of ethanol be used in the United States to dilute gasoline. The law called for 4 billion gallons of ethanol to be used in 2006, 6.1 billion gallons in 2009, and 7.5 billion gallons by 2012.

As the demand for corn has increased because of increased ethanol consumption, the Washington Post reported this week, the number of acres used to grow wheat in the U.S. has contracted, contributing to a shortage of wheat on the world market and an overall increase in world grain prices.

"I think very definitely there is a clear connection between our ethanol use and world hunger," Kennedy told Cybercast News Service . "The connection is becoming more evident and understood more every day by the American people. And they understand that there is very little that's being done to address the problem."

Lieberman, who chairs the Homeland Security Committee, told Cybercast News Service that he is going to hold a hearing on the topic on May 7. "I am very concerned about this issue," said Lieberman. "There are a lot of serious questions that have been raised."

When Cybercast News Service asked Lieberman if he thinks federal laws that mandate escalating domestic ethanol consumption ought to be repealed, he said such a solution ought to be considered.

"I think that that may need to be reflected as part of the solution to the problem," he said.

Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) expressed a different view.

"I don't see the link between hunger and our requirements that ethanol be mixed into our gasoline," Craig told Cybercast News Service . "We are still exporting food to the world. The world hunger movement is also tied to the environmental movement. Environmentalists have decided that ethanol is bad and so liberals are arguing that it's connected with food and therefore it is all bad. There has to be a balance."

"Ethanol today has brought the price of gas down by 20 cents," Craig said. "American consumers may be paying a little more for food but they are also paying a little less for gas because of ethanol in the market. It's a worthwhile trade. The market is a little distorted at the moment. Let's lower the subsidy on ethanol, and let the market stabilize, but our country is better off today because we are producing ethanol."



Make media inquiries or request an interview about this article.



E-mail a comment or news tip to Josiah Ryan