Ninety organizations are calling for an end to the $6 billion-dollar-a-year subsidy that encourages the production of ethanol biofuel from maize in the United States.
批评者要求停止对玉米提炼乙醇产业每年60亿美元的鼓励性津贴。
Ethanol makes up about 10 percent of the gasoline fueling cars in the United States, and almost all of it is made from maize.
美国汽车使用的燃油中，乙醇占百分之10。几乎所有的乙醇都是用玉米提炼的。
"It’s renewable and domestic, home-grown," says Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, who adds that this home-grown source of energy is reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
美国再生燃料协会会长鲍勃·丁南说，这是可再生的国内产品。国内生产能源，可以减少对美国对外国石油的依赖。
A 2007 U.S. law requires motor fuel to include renewable fuels. And - for blending in ethanol - gasoline makers get a tax credit that adds up to about $6 billion this year.
2007年的一项法律要求美国的机动车用油必须含有再生燃油。汽油业者在汽油中添加乙醇可以享受减税优惠。今年这项优惠总计60亿美元。
Skyrocketing production
Production of ethanol from maize, also called corn in the United States, has skyrocketed in just the last few years to meet the demand, says Purdue University economist Wally Tyner. "It’s gone from 5 percent of our corn crop to almost 40 percent of our corn crop today. So it’s a huge change."
普度大学经济学家沃里·泰纳说，仅仅过去几年当中，为了因应市场需求，玉米乙醇的产量直线上升，“从原先使用玉米收成的百分之5，增长到现在的百分之40。这是非常大的变化。”
Critics say that huge change is one of the reasons corn prices on global markets have risen 77 percent over a year ago.
批评者说，这种巨大变化正是全球玉米价格在过去一年里猛涨百分之77的原因之一。
Tyner agrees ethanol is a factor, but he also points to a number of other factors driving prices up. Bad weather last season cut supplies in major producing countries, while demand for food and animal feed is rising, especially in Asia.
实际上，有好几个因素推动玉米价格上涨。去年的恶劣气候导致主要生产国减产；对粮食和饲料的需求不断增长。泰纳说，从短期来看，乙醇是因素之一。
Rising corn prices
The impacts of rising corn prices are greatest in the developing world, where many people spend most of their income on food.
关注粮价的团体“救援行动”组织的玛丽·布里尔指出，玉米价格上涨，对发展中国家影响最大，因为这些国家的人将收入的主要部分，花费在食品上。
"Even if they rise a little bit in a local market, poor and vulnerable people are feeling that the most strongly," says Marie Brill, with the advocacy group ActionAid.
她说：“即使粮价在当地市场稍有上扬，贫穷无依的人也会感受强烈。”
ActionAid was one of the 90 organizations that wrote to U.S. congressional leaders urging an end to the ethanol tax credit. The list also included food manufacturers and meat and dairy groups hit by rising prices.
“救援行动”组织是写信要求国会领袖取消对乙醇业者减税优惠的90个组织之一。这些组织还包括受到粮价影响的食品制造业以及肉类和乳类业者。
"We don’t need to put good taxpayer money after bad biofuels at a time when the industry can compete on its own," says Brill.
“救援行动”组织的玛丽·布里尔说：“在业界能够自行竞争之际，我们没有必要用诚实的纳税人的钱，去追求不好的生物燃料。”
However, Bob Dinneen with the Renewable Fuels Association says the role of ethanol in rising food prices has been greatly overstated.
但是，再生燃料协会的鲍勃·丁南说，乙醇在粮价上涨中的影响被无限夸大了。
"I’m not going to say no role, but a very small role," he says. "The fact of the matter is, what is driving food price inflation today is skyrocketing energy costs. Period."
“我不会说一点影响都没有，但影响很小。事实是，今天粮价上涨的原因是飙涨的能源价格。”
Food security vs. energy security
With crude oil trading at around $100 a barrel, Dinneen believes subsidies for the petroleum industry should be on the table, too. He says the ethanol industry is open to changes but adds that the industry’s potential to help meet the country’s future energy needs should not be sacrificed.
丁南说，原油价格已经高达每桶100多美元。炼油工业的补贴应当被提上日程了。他说，乙醇工业随时准备改变，但不应当牺牲乙醇工业帮助满足国家未来对能源的需求。
"Look, we produce from grain today. But there is not an ethanol producer in the country that isn’t looking for new feedstocks, new technologies to continue to grow the industry in a sustainable fashion," says Dinneen.
他说：“我们今天用谷类提炼乙醇。但是全国没有任何乙醇业者不在寻找新原料，新技术，以保持这个产业的可持续成长。”
While the search for new technologies continues, food crops remain the primary source for biofuels - a questionable route to independence from foreign oil, according to ActionAid’s Marie Brill.
只是，“救援行动”组织的布里尔表示，尽管他们在继续寻求新技术，但目前粮食仍旧是生物燃料的主要来源。用这种方式摆脱对外国石油的依赖，不免令人怀疑。
"If what we really want in our oil independence is national security," she says, "then we need to make sure we’re not putting at risk our food security."
她说：“如果我们争取石油独立的真正目的是国家安全，那么，我们就要确保现在的作法不会损害我们的食品安全。” |