• plyth@feddit.org
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    3 hours ago

    So we could gain 29,750,000 acres of land to grow more food or whatever and stop growing corn to turn into ethanol just to burn it in our cars.

    What if there is another potato famine, (added: another potato destroying mold)? That corn creates food security because it can always be used as food while the ethanol is replaced with petrol.

    • 🌞 Alexander Daychilde 🌞@lemmy.world
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      10 hours ago

      Corn grown for ethanol is not edible by humans. Also, do you really think growing only 29,750,000 acres of corn instead of 30,000,000 acres is a meaningful difference? Because it’s not.

      • plyth@feddit.org
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        10 hours ago

        You suggest to grown none of those 30 million that are used for ethanol. That would be 30 million acres less out of 90 million that are used for corn. That’s a major chamge.

        • 🌞 Alexander Daychilde 🌞@lemmy.world
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          10 hours ago

          Corn grown for ethanol would not help in a food shortage, so for the idea of a food shortage, it is… not helpful.

          We have plenty of land not being used right now that could be used to grow food.

          But we don’t have a shortage of food. We have food being wasted and thrown away. We have plenty of excess food. This is like being worried about your driveway taking up valuable lawn space. It’s… not.

          • plyth@feddit.org
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            3 hours ago

            would not help in a food shortage

            Others have pointed out that it can be eaten as staple food.

            We have plenty of land not being used right now

            Land doesn’t help if there is no food.

            But we don’t have a shortage of food.

            A reserve is for out of ordinary situations.

    • zbyte64@awful.systems
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      9 hours ago

      You know the Irish wouldn’t have starved so bad if the Brits didn’t insist they export all food that wasn’t potatoes. Let’s not use bad policies as an example for why we can’t have good policies.

      • plyth@feddit.org
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        2 hours ago

        I meant to say that the problem could be another potato destroing mold. The famine could be avoided by switching to ethanol corn.

        Not growing that corn would lead to the same result as exporting it.