Al Gore: I Flacked for Corn Ethanol Because I Wanted to Win Iowa

The Goreacle speaketh:

Former Vice President Al Gore has reversed his support of corn-ethanol subsidies. He even went one step further by admitting his original endorsement of them was nothing more than political pandering. Or at least, that’s what he told a green energy conference sponsored by the Marfin Popular Bank in Europe.

In a display of unexpected candor, Gore told the audience, “It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for first-generation ethanol…First-generation ethanol I think was a mistake. The energy conversion ratios are at the best very small.”

He continued: “One of the reasons I made that mistake is that I paid particular attention to the farmers in my home state of Tennessee, and I had certain fondness for the farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for president.”

Ethanol is a biofuel in the United States that is made by extracting sugar from corn. In the past, it has been linked to rising food prices. Diverting corn – which is a standard ingredient for a wide variety of food products — from feeding livestock and producing food, to manufacturing ethanol has resulted in a trickle-down effect throughout supermarkets.

Now, Gore is citing that as his reason for his complete reversal on ethanol. “The size, the percentage of corn particularly, which is now being [used for] first generation ethanol definitely has an impact on food prices,” said Gore. “The competition with food prices is real.”

Could there be a spark of conscience in the Goreacle?  Hard to believe, but perhaps the stories of people who can't afford to buy corn-based staples in parts of the world are getting to him.