The Impact of Ethanol Use on Food Prices and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions, April 2009
"The production and use of ethanol in the United States have been steadily
increasing since 2001, boosted in part by long-standing production subsidies.
That growth has exerted upward pressure on the price of corn and, ultimately, on the retail price of food, affecting both individual consumers and federal expenditures on nutritional support programs. It has also raised questions about the environmental consequences of replacing gasoline with ethanol.

This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis, which was prepared at the request
of Representatives Ron Kind, Rosa DeLauro, and James McGovern, examines the relationship between increasing production of ethanol and rising prices for food.
In particular, CBO estimated how much of the rise in food prices between April 2007 and April 2008 was due to an increase in the production of ethanol and how much that increase in prices might raise federal expenditures on food assistance programs.

CBO also examined how much the increased use of ethanol might lower emissions of greenhouse gases. In keeping with CBO’s mandate to provide objective, impartial analysis, the report contains no recommendations."