Filed under: Business | Tags: alternative energy, beef, biofuels, Business, cattle, EPA, ethanol, food, food prices, grain, news, politics, renewable fuel, Rick Perry, science, Texas
In what may be a sign of things to come, the state of Texas has requested “a 50 percent waiver from the federal renewable fuel standard (RFS) mandate for ethanol produced from grain.” The RFS mandate is intended to “increase the volume of renewable fuel required to be blended into gasoline to 7.5 billion gallons by 2012.” In a statement on the governor of Texas’ website it cites that the waiver is requested because of “skyrocketing food costs.” Further, in the letter sent to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson the governor of Texas, Rick Perry, states that RFS mandate is having unintended and harmful consequences on the Texas economy and in particular the agricultural industry. Basically, with the rise in cost of grain it is putting a strain on the 149,000 cattle producers in Texas. If Texas were granted the waiver than the grain that would have been earmarked for biofuels could instead be used to feed Texas cattle. Texas’ waiver request might be the first in a line of similar requests as “officials in Missouri and Virgina are considering asking for similar exemptions.”
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