[OC] Sugarcane was first introduced to Brazil in 1532. Half a millennium later, the country produces over 700M tonnes yearly (roughly the same amount as all of Asia, and 7x the amount produced by Africa)Coloradostoneman t1_j84ibnp wrote
Reply to comment by Roadkill_Bingo in [OC] Sugarcane was first introduced to Brazil in 1532. Half a millennium later, the country produces over 700M tonnes yearly (roughly the same amount as all of Asia, and 7x the amount produced by Africa) by latinometrics
My degree is in cellular and molecular biology. I do understand fermentation and related fields pretty well. Do you understand global economics? If we stop using corn for ethanol and ship it to places that might be willing to eat it, it will be so cheep that it will harm their local farmers tremendously ultimately making those places less food secure.
What else should we do with the corn?
Roadkill_Bingo t1_j84lfpb wrote
The point you raise is an important one. There’s no one way to do globalized trade without collateral damage. Specialized production has huge weaknesses in practice - just look at juggernaut oil producer Russia - it’s risky. The solution is not relying on Brazil for world ethanol production either.
My original critique was just pointing out the false narrative we’re given about ethanol production in the US. It’s marginally carbon negative and there are more productive ways to use the land in terms of climate change and/or human well-being. Food or grassland restoration, for instance.
Coloradostoneman t1_j84w7bt wrote
That is a much more nuanced response then just "we are wasting food". The world is not short on food. It might be short on sustainably produced food. It might be short on food in the places it is most needed. but it is not short on food.
Ethanol, as a fuel, is not carbon negative. Corn based ethanol is not even particularly better than say natural gas given the fertilizer input.
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