Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, Meatingplace.com, March 21

The American Meat Institute issued a statement on Monday linking rising meat prices to the use of corn to create ethanol.

Retail meat prices rose 9.2 percent in February on a seasonally-adjusted basis from prices in February 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly Consumer Price Index issued last Thursday. Pork prices rose 8.9 percent from last year’s level. Beef and veal prices climbed 10.6 percent; beef steaks 8.6 percent; beef roasts 15.4 percent and ground beef 10 percent.

“While many variables contribute to the price of any food item, the soaring cost of corn due to ethanol production is one underlying factor that is driving up not only meat and poultry prices, but other food prices as well,” said J. Patrick Boyle, president and CEO of the American Meat Institute. “This news is clear evidence that we should not be embracing a policy that burns 40 percent of our corn for fuel – it is burning a hole in Americans’ food budgets.”

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