Wyoming Senator John Barrasso has introduced legislation to repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen says the proposed legislation may serve the oil and gas interests in Wyoming – but is bad for consumers, bad for the environment and bad for America. Dinneen says the RFS has proven its worth time and time again. He notes it creates jobs, reduces America’s dependence on foreign oil, lowers the price of gasoline and gives consumers choice at the pump. Dinneen says consumers want options and the ability to make their own informed decision. He says the renewable fuels industry is fighting tooth and nail to introduce more choice into a market that is dominated by the petroleum industry. He says the lack of choice caused by that market domination by the petroleum monopoly is the problem – and repealing the RFS is not the answer.
Growth Energy CEO Says NCCR Serving False Claims About RFS
The National Council of Chain Restaurants was on Capitol Hill Thursday to call for the repeal of the Renewable Fuel Standard. Representatives from White Castle and Wendy’s joined National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Steve Foglesong, Representative Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and Representative Jim Matheson of Utah to launch ‘Feed Food Fairness: Take RFS Off the Menu.’ But Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis says the RFS is the most successful energy policy this nation has enacted in the last 40 years. If the NCCR is looking for the culprits behind increased food costs – Buis says they should look no further than the mirror and their supporters at Big Oil who have relentlessly tried to repeal the RFS. Buis says they are trying to blame the ethanol industry to justify their actions of constantly increasing food prices. He notes just 14-percent of the price of food is attributable to the cost of the commodity – while the rest can be attributed to energy costs and marketing.
Buis says the fact of the matter is that the true driver in food costs is energy prices. He says processing, packaging, wrapping, storage, refrigeration and transportation are all energy intensive and food prices will follow with ever increasing oil and energy prices. Buis says Big Oil is costing the consumer at the pump and at the grocery store. He cites a recent World Bank study that shows the biggest driver by far of world food prices has been crude oil – responsible for almost 50-percent of the change in food prices since 2004.
Buis says it seems NCCR’s end game is to blame the ethanol industry and revert to the days of cheap, government subsidized corn so they can earn higher profits at the expense of the nation’s consumers and farmers.
Source: NAFB News Service