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If you are what you eat, then automobiles in the U.S. should be sprouting corn leaves.

The past three years have seen spikes in food prices due to , starting and aggravating because of devastating food insecurity. All the while, farmers in the Midwest plant corn destined for the fuel tanks of America’s cars. According to new study that was reported yesterday in , 30 percent of the 2009 U.S. corn crop was dedicated to ethanol production.  Thankfully, something more productive and NOT a food can be turned into ethanol fuel.

The study found that if you simply use different plants, you can dramatically increase bioenergy feedstock production, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase slightly the amount of corn available for other uses besides animal feed. The plants in mind? and . According to the study, if 30 percent of the lowest-producing Midwestern corn cropland were converted to Miscanthus growth, you would get an 82 percent increase in bioenergy feedstocks.

I wonder if the people at the are worried at all?

Photo by via Flickr