04/12/07 Renewable energy is not food verus fuel

Washington Ag April 12, 2007 Members of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee in Olympia were told Wednesday that it is possible to provide 25 percent of total U.S. energy needs by the year 2525 from renewable agriculture and forestry resources and still provide the nation's food and fiber needs. That message was delivered by Whitman County farmer Read Smith who is also national co-chair of the 25 X 25 project. Smith: "We are already seeing scare tactics used from the corn-ethanol situation in that this is not a food or fuel. This is food and. Certainly new technology is going to allow us to produce the food and produce the energy because the feedstocks ultimately will not be corn or soybeans. It is going to be a number of other sources." Smith cited a study which indicates corn acreage will continue to expand due to ethanol demand until about 2012 to 2015 but it will decline as an explosion in cellulosic ethanol occurs. The 25x25 co-chair said the best role the state could play is not to choose feedstock winners like canola for example, but to help fund research to develop dedicated energy crops for the northwest. Smith said attaining the 25x25 vision would revitalize rural America, give the U.S. energy security and provide tremendous environmental benefits for all citizens. I'm Bob Hoff.