AMI Calls House Energy Bill Counterproductive
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The American Meat Institute (AMI) here blasted the U.S. House of Representatives' passage of a 15 billion-gallon grain ethanol mandate late last week as part of H.R. 6, claiming the legislation will drive up food prices and ultimately trade food for fuel.
"We support efforts to increase U.S. energy security, but this bill takes a myopic approach by mandating grain-based ethanol, increasing demand for corn even further than the record levels we've seen in the last twelve months," said AMI president J. Patrick Boyle. "The net effect of this bill will be to increase the cost of meat and poultry to consumers."
According to USDA, meat, poultry, and egg spending comprise 60 percent of the average consumer's food dollar.
"This energy bill stands to send an economic jolt to Americans' grocery bills," Boyle said. "The rush to further increase the mandate is sure to bring a host of negative consequences, from adding costs to federal feeding programs to making our livestock and poultry exports less competitive relative to those produced by other nations. The passage of this bill is extremely counterproductive."
"We support efforts to increase U.S. energy security, but this bill takes a myopic approach by mandating grain-based ethanol, increasing demand for corn even further than the record levels we've seen in the last twelve months," said AMI president J. Patrick Boyle. "The net effect of this bill will be to increase the cost of meat and poultry to consumers."
According to USDA, meat, poultry, and egg spending comprise 60 percent of the average consumer's food dollar.
"This energy bill stands to send an economic jolt to Americans' grocery bills," Boyle said. "The rush to further increase the mandate is sure to bring a host of negative consequences, from adding costs to federal feeding programs to making our livestock and poultry exports less competitive relative to those produced by other nations. The passage of this bill is extremely counterproductive."