Entonces: Tortillas on mun2

Enter the maize.

sat 2/3/2007

Many people, including scientists and some big companies believe that we are running out of oil. What oil there is, is located mostly in very hostile environments. One possible alternative to oil is ethanol. Lately, there has been a high demand for ethanol. Even U.S. President George W. Bush said "We must continue investing in new methods of producing ethanol…" Ethanol is primarily made out of corn. The more demand there is for ethanol, the more expensive corn becomes. But ethanol is not the only product made out of corn. So are corn tortillas. Over the last six months, the price of corn meal for tortillas in Mexico has doubled. Most Mexicans rely on corn tortillas to keep from going hungry. Entonces: many Mexican families are now worried about going hungry because we may be running out of oil.

Images via Flickr by mattdente, swanksalot, Fábio Pinheiro, Omar Omar, Tjeerd, madpai, Señor Codo, presta, Amor Ministries and carlosfpardo.

Updates: At blog.wired.com, commenter Jon P points to the role played by Mexican trade policy, a factor also cited by The Dallas Morning News. But in a recent story on NAFTA, the San Diego Union-Tribune notes that "allowing corn imports is politically risky" in Mexico. See comments below for additional links and extended discussion.

also tagged mexico, oil, tortillas, entonces, ethanol, economics, corn, food security

49 responses to “Entonces: Tortillas”

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Es facil. Drive less, eat more tortillas.

Joseph

(LA)

4/7/2008

hey wazz up want to give you pips a shout love yall you da best!!!!!!!!!!!!! hala back

michelle a.k.a lil mimi

(oakland)

11/9/2007

THATS A BUNCH OF BULLS*** WILL NEVER RUN OUT OF OIL,THE MEDIA JUST WANT S U TO BELIVE THAT,AND PLUS WE GOT FREE ENRGY DEVICES THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF THE US DONT WAN TO EVER COME OUT TO THE PUBLIC!!

cali boy

(BaYaReA,CA)

5/5/2007

A shortage of corn is good for first world farmers, esp for North American first world farmers, but bad for Mexico and the developing world. Check out my blog at http://roberrific.typepad.com/drunkenmoose
and see how the oil companies are the one true evil in this world.
The American Petroleum Institute is the devil incarnate.
Famous

FuelGhoul

2/20/2007

IAM BOREDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
HI KARINA AND
KARINA Y MARTIN 4EVER

changito

(chicago)

4/4/2007

Claudio, you make an excellent point on a source of much confusion. Here's what the Washington Post reported on the subject a few weeks ago:

Ethanol, which has become more popular as an alternative fuel in the United States and elsewhere because of high oil prices, is generally made with yellow corn. But the price of white corn, which is used to make tortillas, is indexed in Mexico to the international price of yellow corn, said [Arturo] Puente, the Mexico City economist.

Mr. Puente is an economist at the National Institute for Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research in Mexico City.

mun2

2/9/2007

Are you guys sure that the type of corn used for tortillas is different from the corn used for alcohol production? All the tortillas I've seen are made from field corn ( dent corn mostly), the same stuff we feed to cattle. Sweet corn makes horrible tortillas. I'm sure there are some preferred varieties used locally - like the flint corn used in the Am. SouthWest, but I think garden variety tortillas use ordinary yellow field corn.

peteathome

2/9/2007

If you are interested in this subject, check out my blog http://blog.myspace.com/cargillsucks

CargillSucks

2/8/2007

That's the dumbest comparison if have yet seen. Idiots. Yes, renewable resources like corn and what the f**k not are great for energy. No, a certain price spike does not mean your f***ing tortilla gets more expensive. Employ some basic economics idiots! The trade volume would _not_ offset your silly little out of country things when concerning in country demainds and prices - for quite a while.

johna

2/8/2007

This is a joke. Right? If not you are seriously some of the dumbest people ever. You say the reason tortilla prices in Mexico is higher is because there is not enough corn? The harvest time for corn is 55-85 days depending on the variety. Any shortage that could possibly have occured would not have lasted as long as your graphs 6 months due to the price of corn gowing up and it being profitable to grow corn and sell it. Then you say that by some Mexican government rule the price of yellow corn is tied to the price of white corn. This would mean that an adminstration that barely won the last election (It was contested) would be willing to make its already near starving citizens pay twice as much for food, to avoid rewriting an economic policy? There would be a revolt. Come on people, think!

givemeabreak

2/9/2007