I am writing this letter in response to Aaron Woell’s column stating the reasons he is against the use of ethanol as an alternative for gasoline.

In this column, Woell discusses the bill being considered by the state of Iowa that would require all gas stations in Iowa to sell only gasoline blended with ethanol.

The first point he makes is that the bill is a way that the state is trying to take over farm production.

I would like to know how he came to this completely absurd conclusion.

The state of Iowa is merely trying to show concern for residents that currently are being pushed to the brink of bankruptcy by a system that is quite out of whack.

At another point in the column he speaks of our economy as one that maximizes utility.

I would like to know where this idea came from.

Last time I checked, our economy was not doing a very good job of maximizing utility.

Any economy that pays millions upon millions of dollars to sports stars, actors, actresses and endless other forms of entertainment, yet pays virtually nothing to the people who produce the food that feeds the entire country is not an economy that is maximizing utility.

The third part of this column that I found disturbing was one of the closing statements. In his words, “The fact is that this new ethanol proposal is just a gimmick concocted by greedy farmers to alleviate economic problems caused by their own shortsightedness.”

This is the most disturbing comment I have ever heard.

Obviously, the person writing it does not realize that the food he eats every day is raised with endless hours of hard work by these “greedy, shortsighted” people.

I will give you a new definition of greedy: a person who refuses to put a small amount of a product in his gas tank that would serve to help a grossly underpaid class of hard-working people.

At today’s prices, the average acre of corn costs $300 or more to produce.

The current price of one bushel of corn is about $2. This means that a farmer would have to get a yield of at least 150 bushels per acre just to break even.

A yield of 150 bushels per acre is a good yield, even with the modern hybrids and technology. This leaves very little for the farmer to live on.

I think that it the time is fast approaching when this person will be eating his words. There has not been a major crop loss since the drought in the late 1980s.

Crop yields are higher than they have ever been. Yet, the people who have made these yields possible are shunned by the society in which they live.

The author spoke of losing his freedom of choice. I will give you a choice, put the ethanol free gas in your car. Don’t expect to get food to eat.

Believe it or not, virtually everything you put in your mouth to eat comes from the farmers. The agriculture industry is in dire straits, and you try to oppose it even more.

Everyone has a breaking point. Keep pushing, and you may find out where that breaking point is.

I urge you to reconsider your thoughts on this issue. Are you hungry?

Justin Bonnema

Sophmore

Agricultural engineering