05/25/2008
By Gary Truitt
An issue that has dominated both the agriculture and consumer media over the past few months has been the debate over ethanol. As I have reported several times, the mainstream media has maintained an aggressive and one-sided attack on ethanol and renewable fuels. They have blamed corn-based fuel for everything from higher food prices, to world hunger, environmental degradation, resource depletion and impoverishment of the livestock producers. Now it turns out that the whole thing is a sham, a hoax, spin, a put-up job, a well-funded manipulation of the media. In other words, we have all been had by the big time food industry.
Recently several readers have taken me to task on this issue, so let me offer the results of an investigation by Roll Call newspaper. According to the Capitol Hill publication, the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has been “leading an "aggressive" public relations campaign for the past two months in an effort to roll back ethanol mandates that passed in last year‘s Energy Bill. The association hired Glover Park Group to run a six-month campaign; according to GMA‘s own documents, "GMA has concluded that rising food prices create a window to change perceptions about the benefits of bio-fuels and the mandate." GMA‘s Scott Faber said it was high time the group, which represents many of the nation‘s largest food, beverage and household goods companies, joined the debate. GMA has done more than just join the debate, they have taken it over.
GMA, which believes the current ethanol policy has caused a major rise in food prices, sent out the Request For Proposals (RFP) in early March looking for a public relations shop to "build a groundswell in support of freezing or reversing some provisions of the 2007 Energy Bill and for the elimination/reform of ethanol subsidies and import restrictions." In its RFP, the GMA outlined a four-part approach which includes building "a global center-left coalition” of environmental, hunger, food aid, poverty, development, senior, children, business, nutrition, farm consumer and labor groups and taking advantage of the "extraordinary earned media opportunities" caused by rising food prices.
Glover Park, a Virginia based lobbying and public relations firm, was hired by GMA to implement their plan. Glover Park said the campaign must "clearly show the direct and irrefutable link between corn-based ethanol policy and the variety of harms caused by that policy, above all food price inflation." Missing from their plan was any mention of FACTS. The facts that the US ethanol policy is NOT the major driver behind rising food prices never entered into the GMA push.
Study after study concludes that high oil prices are the primary force behind higher food prices, economic inflation, and international food insecurity. Ethanol‘s increasing demand for corn is responsible for about 1.2 percent of the increase in U.S. food prices during the last two years, as estimated by a University of Nebraska-Lincoln agricultural economist. Purdue ag economist Chris Hurt estimates the figure may be as high as 20%. This is hardly the draconian crisis GMA portrays.
Almost as disappointing as the GMA tactics is the response by ethanol and agricultural interests. There remains, to date, no unified and coordinated response. A cadre of separate organizations has responded but, for the most part, has been ineffective. The issue has already been defined in the minds of the media and, once that occurs, is very difficult to change. Ethanol, however, has not been defined in the minds of most consumers. Research indicates most people have not made up their minds about ethanol. Here is where the industry needs to concentrate its efforts. We have a window of opportunity to deliver a positive message about ethanol to consumers. If we can succeed here, the media manipulation by the GMA and their high-priced PR firm will not be a factor.
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