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Food or Fuel? The Case for a US Strategic Corn Reserve and Food-Fuel Throttle to Reduce Global Hunger During Food Price Spikes

Article by Kiran Chokshi. Published August 21, 2024.

Kiran Chokshi1

1Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Open AccessPeer Reviewed

Food or Fuel? The Case for a US Strategic Corn Reserve and Food-Fuel Throttle to Reduce Global Hunger During Food Price Spikes

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Abstract

<p>Corn, at 47 billion bushels annually, is the second most produced crop globally, serving as a key staple food for billions. The U.S. is the world's largest producer and consumer, producing 13.7 billion bushels in 2023. Out of this, the US uses roughly 40% to produce fuel for cars and trucks, because of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), with 40% used for animal feed and the remaining 20% going to food and other uses. In recent years, world events such as Covid and the Ukraine war have caused food price spikes, resulting in severe hunger for the global poor, especially the millions at the margins of food affordability in Sub-Saharan Africa. It could be strategically beneficial for the US to adjust its corn storage and allocation policy. This paper sets forth two policy proposals: (1) Strategic Corn Reserve (SCR) to store corn for periods of soaring prices modeled on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR); (2) Fuel-Food Throttle (FFT) for flexible usage of corn as fuel or food depending on the situation. The benefits of these policies would significantly outweigh the costs, by reducing hunger in critical moments and countering foreign influence in poverty-stricken regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa. To execute these bold policies will require either an executive order and/or congressional legislation, as well as developing pathways for storage and flexible use, which are outlined within.</p>

Article Details

Journal
Journal of Academics Stand Against Poverty
Issue
Volume 4, Issue Special Issue, 2024
Section
Articles
Pages
93-101
DOI
10.5281/zenodo.12506093
Zenodo Record
https://zenodo.org/records/12506093
Published
August 21, 2024
Canonical URL
https://scholardemia.com/workspace/asap/article/food-or-fuel-the-case-for-a-us-strategic-corn-reserve-and-food-fuel-throttle-to-reduce-global-hunger-during-food-price-s

References

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