Congressional Budget Office says 2007-08 food price increases mostly caused by fuel prices, not biofuel production; biofuels contributed 10-15 percent of price increase

In Washington, the Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of ethanol consumption and food prices between April 2007 and April 2008, when rising prices led critics to dub the conflict “food vs fuel”.

The non-partisan CBO concluded that increased ethanol usage contributed 10-15 percent of the increase in food prices during that time.

Factors such as rising fossil fuel prices, the CBO determined, were the overwhelming contributor to food inflation during the period. The Grocery Manufacturers Association, American Meat Institute, National Turkey Federation and National Council of Chain Restaurants released a statement describing the contribution of ethanol to rising food prices “startling”, while Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis said “The report released by the Congressional Budget Office confirms what we’ve known for some time: The impact of ethanol production on food prices is minimal and that energy was the main driver.”

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