Sioux City Journal, IA
08-02-07
Food vs. fuel debate focuses on popcorn
By Dan Gearino Journal Des Moines Bureau
JOHNSTON, Iowa -- Popcorn was on the menu Wednesday morning with a side
order of anxious public relations.
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association and the Iowa Corn Growers Association
teamed up to pop more than 38 pounds of the snack to illustrate how much corn
a farmer needs to sell to get $5 in return.
The groups had the display to respond to news stories that blame high corn
prices for an increase in popcorn prices.
Monte Shaw, executive director of the renewable fuels group, said when a
movie-goer pays $5 for popcorn, farmers only get about 2 cents, up 0.7 of a cent
from last year. He said any retail price increase larger than 0.7 of a cent is
because of other factors, such as high energy costs.
"Don't blame the farmer," Shaw said, standing in his office's parking lot next to a
stack of clear plastic bags full of popcorn.
This is the latest version of the food vs. fuel debate, where critics of the ethanol
industry say too much corn is being used for fuel, which they say contributes to
high prices for meat, eggs and other foods that involve corn.
Pam Johnson, a farmer near Floyd, Iowa, and former chair of the Iowa Corn
Promotion Board, was on hand to lend her support. "When we hear the price of
all the food is going up, and it's being blamed on the farmer, we'd like to be able
to tell the other side of the story," she said.
Shaw said he felt the need to hold the popcorn event to refute "crazy articles"
and "crazy rhetoric" he's seen in newspapers across the country about popcorn
prices. He singled out an Associated Press story from Dayton, Ohio, that ran
across the country last week. The story said the rising demand for corn-based
ethanol is "hitting the pocketbooks of some movie-goers."
The example cited in the story is a small chain of Ohio movie theaters that raised
the price of popcorn from $4.25 to $5.
Iowa State University economists looked at the food vs. fuel issue in a report
released in May. Chad Hart, one of the co-authors, said the corn growers'
argument is correct, up to a point. He said farmers get a very small share of the
retail price of many goods, but prices have clearly increased because so much
corn is being used for ethanol.
"Some of the corn growers' statements have been that there's no impact. Well
there is some (impact). The question is how big," Hart said. The report found that
ethanol accounts for 1 to 2 percent of the increase in overall food costs. The
percentage is higher for items that require a large amount of corn for production,
such as eggs and certain meats.
Tracy Boever, director of public relations and marketing for Sioux City based
American Pop Corn Co., said the company is competing with ethanol producers
for farmland.
"We're thrilled what (ethanol) is doing for the Iowa economy," Boever said. "The
other side of the coin is we're competing for that same land."
Boever said the company has had to increase the amount of money it is paying
farmers in order for them grow popcorn on their land instead of field corn.
American Pop Corn's president, Garrett Smith, recently told the Des Moines
Register that the demand for corn has led to a 65 percent increase in contract
costs to get farmers to plant his product -- the highest increase he's seen in 30
years.
"The reality is that we have not raised our prices, nor do we set movie theater
concession prices," Boever said in an Associated Press story.
Dan Gearino can be reached at 515-243-0138 and dan.gearino@lee.net.
Journal reporter Dolly Butz contributed to this story.