Do We Produce Too Much If We Are Making Corn Into Plastic Bottles?
Outside of agriculture there is a feeling of vast quantities, that farmers produce too much corn, soybeans, cotton, and other monocrops in a habitat destroying, bee killing, rural, backward, government sponsored enterprise that is slowly adding to climate change and environmental destruction. Agriculture is largely reactionary and heavily influenced by capitalism. If the need is there, and the price is right, the crop will be produced.
One of the Three Sisters
Corn, the silage, feed stock, multi-use plastics and sugar crop that has come to dominate the American Midwest. We grow too much, or do we not grow enough? Biofuels are no better for the climate, so we have to cast that aside, so why corn for fuel? The ethanol derived is often much cheaper than gasoline and can be substituted or blended as most gas is in order to drop the price at the pump for the average American.
Current spot price indicates that at $2.50 a gallon, when blended with gas, would make fuel more affordable. Now, corn crop is highly dependent upon yield. One thing I can say is that the ethanol plants are highly efficient with their process, corn goes in, fuel goes out and the waste is blended into cattle feed. We can also infer that plastics made from corn will also be cheaper due to the price per barrel of oil derived plastics are higher. Corn derived plastics are called Polylactic Acid, or PLAs for short, and this table sums up the cost per gram of each poly resin currently on the market.
Corn plastics, at $0.03 per gram are about comparable with oil derived plastics such as poly ethylene and nylon. Now, PLA has some different qualities than oil derived plastics, so the uses are limited to plastics bottles which are abhorrent, and other low pressure, low heat applications. Bring back glass bottles for all.
Corn also is a principal ingredient in silage, and a vast majority of the corn we grow goes into sustaining the herds of beef, pork, and poultry that we keep to feed protein to the population. The vast majority of silage is fed to bovine ruminants to produce milk and meat, principally during winter when forage is at its lowest.
Corn sugar is also a huge industry. Corn sugar as a monosaccharide is easier for yeast to ferment, hence moonshine, Budweiser beer, etc. Corn also has a larger growing range than sugar cane. Cane sugar is a tropical plant that grows mostly further south than corn. Texas and Florida can successfully pull off a sugar cane crop, however, a corn crop realizes a better yield, and the fructose is sweeter than cane sugar (sucrose). Relative sweetness in products allows them to put less in to achieve the desired flavor profile.
Corn derived fructose allows for sweeteners to be grown in higher latitudes and also in abundance to make the historical price of sugar decline into something obtainable for the average family.
The Second Sister
Olive oil is, without a doubt, the most expensive oil you can buy. The science of whether it is better to consume, well, let the buyer sort that out. Corn can also be used for oil, but today, most vegetable oil is from crushed soybeans. Soy oil can also be used as fuel, as the Biden Administration, among others has sought to make a push for. There is also sunflower oil, safflower oil, canola, avocado, and peanut oils. But its stands true that the cheapest cooking oils are vegetable oils and are soy based. Soy oils have always been widely used, however palm oil still holds the record, unfortunately. Palm is a messy business that involves Indonesian rainforest burns to plant palm orchards to provide to the cooking oils markets.
Soy is also included in the silage to feed to the beef, pork, and poultry industries. Soy is also a highly consumed protein product as well. Think, edamame, tofu, etc. The beans themselves make a nice curd, or can be fermented and salted to make a host of things. Soy is as versatile as corn if not more so. Corn milk still isn’t a thing. Yet.
Soy beans, post crush and oils extracted, are also thrown into livestock feed. The proteins are essential to everything from dog food to chicken feed. Waste materials still have value.
You can’t eat that.
Cotton is one of those rare crops that we grow large amounts of that are not for food. We grow a lot of cotton, whole swaths of Texas and Mississippi planted with cotton each year for textiles, in addition to cotton seed oils that mirror the same chemical and energy density as diesel. Cotton and wool are the original fibers from antiquity. An increase in cotton farming would threaten the nylon and poly fibers that are currently cheaper than the natural alternative. Cotton jeans are just that much better in my opinion. Cotton is also compostable and does not increase the amount of micro plastics now being identified… everywhere.
There are multiple other agricultural products that we grow worldwide that are beneficial, wheat, grains, many, many more that are for human consumption that feed into the social energy. These few discussed are the most widely used and in various applications for both social energy and mechanical. We should honestly consider growing more. The more oils, fibers, fuel we can get from above the ground will allow us to slow down the pumping from beneath the ground.
“…Bring back glass bottles for all…”
[Amen, Brother Mike. That said though, I am not thinking that fiberglass shirts would be all that comfy. Back when I was still a “working stiff” in an air conditioned office building (a large system data center no less – brr), then I was a natural fiber snob, mostly cotton but some silk and linen both pure and in cotton blends with wool jackets in winter and natural fiber blends mostly for the warmer months. None of that works for me outside in retirement cleaning our pool and maintaining my yard. The combination of breathable, moisture wicking, durability in nylon and poly makes them my summertime must haves here in the hot humid SE US.
From what I have seen on the subject, then it is mostly plastic bottles rather than plastic cloths that end up in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.]
Glass bottles are a must, cardboard containers for dry goods. I’ve tried the poly blends for outdoor working shirts and I hate them. I go with the standard wrangler pearl snap button downs like my grandfather donned. At 100% cotton it’s pretty much the only thing that moves and breathes well that has great coverage and comfort in the Texas heat.
You are correct, most plastic ocean bobbers tend to be plastic bottles and jugs. But PFAs and forever plastics coming off of rain proofed clothing and nylon fiber is scary. Go check out the John Oliver piece on Teflon. Cast iron is having a hayday now.
Michael,
Thanks.
All work is not created equal. Your work is more like actual work, but my summer work – not so much. Our pool is enclosed with a privacy fence and surrounded by a stamped concrete deck. It is in a low area south of our house on the knoll above. So, most of the wind is blocked, but most of the sun is not shaded until late in the day. It gets hot. Sweat runs off me profusely during the summer months when I am skimming and vacuuming the pool. However, I do not need durability for that work, just wicking and breathing and low water absorption along with quick drying. My choice for that is Columbia Tamiami polyester long sleeve, which is only SPF 30 – nearly sheer. I used to go shirtless, but then my first melanoma changed that. I don’t even wear short sleeves now. For everything else in summer, then I wear Columbia Bahama PFG shirts, which is SPF 50. Pants are Columbia nylon for pool and Duluth nylon for yard. All that said in defense of synthetic fibers, then I still must agree with you that I hate them too. However, I switched to synthetics from poplin and chambray in the 80’s because of my growing interest in canoeing, which is wet work. Back then I could only find nylon clothes at Sportif, a west coast outlet for sailing enthusiasts. Since then they caught on everywhere that fishermen shop. Chambray is fine for farm work, but most poplin is not durable enough – same as any lightweight nylon or poly.
Today I am busting out a section of cobblestone masonry edging that borders the bottom of my driveway by our garage to allow me to pull my 18 foot landscaping trailer all around our house. Shirt and pants for that are DeLuth firehose cotton, but the base layer is still poly. It is 39F outside now, so no sweat. If I could find a functional and durable blend of wool and cotton LJs then I would have them, but they have gotten rare over these last forty years.
Actually it was a wool and silk blend that I used forty years ago.
Which is not to say that plastic particles in everything that we eat and drink is a good thing, but rather unlikely to be the solution to the human penchant for self-destruction. We have climate change for that, but not to dismiss thermonuclear war as a recurrent front-runner. So, is nuclear winter the ultimate solution for global warming :<)
33,000+ things that can be done with hemp …
You said it! Same with bamboo. We planted bamboo last year to use in the future for fiber and whatnot. Getting hemp seeds in Texas…the Hurst dogma is still winning, for whatever reason
i have long railed against using 40% of our corn crop for ethanol, when as you say it’s no better (and likely worse when you calculate the entire footprint) for the climate than gasoline, and when there’s usually a famine somewhere on earth that isn’t being addressed…the plastic production creates another whole realm of problems, though…
in addition, there are quite literally hundreds of studies of dead creatures that found they died from plastic accumulation in their digestive tracks after they had mistaken the scraps for food..
I’m not intely sure what happened since I was a kid. Coffee came in metal cans, bottled water wasn’t a thing, metal cans were everywhere, beer came in glass or aluminum. The only plastics we saw were on Saturn’s, or Ziplocks we got from the company store. Otherwise sandwiches were foiled. Ove the past 30 years we have doubled or tripled down the with plastics. Every time I have to run to the grocery store I hate going. I see baskets of public tap in plastic bottles at a 1,000% markup with a Nestle logo on it. This is insane! Our strawberries use to come in paper containers, grocery bags the same. The plastics, I don’t even know where to start
rjs,
Certainly I agree with yourself and Michael Smith about plastics – have for years – decades even. But despite the best efforts of environmentalists, we have yet to see this gain any traction in the political sphere where something might be done to reduce plastic output. Even with climate change where there is lots of political discussion, there is only trivial political action towards reversing the trend. Maybe this time IS different. Cancer on a greatly increased global level may be scarier to the voting public than drought and famine.
[Oh, f…!]
https://www.factorydirectpromos.com/blog/update-on-plastic-bag-bans-in-north-carolinas-outer-banks/
Update On Plastic Bag Ban in North Carolina’s Outer Banks
Bag Ban Update in North Carolina
As plastic bag bans gain momentum in the United States, North Carolina lawmakers recently overturned a long standing plastic bag ban in the Outer Banks. Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of an environmental bill was overturned by the General Assembly. After an eight year hiatus, disposable plastic bags will be allowed again in shops throughout the Outer Banks.
History of Plastic Bag Bans in the Outer Banks
In September 2009 disposable plastic bags were banned from large retailers in Currituck, Dare and Hyde counties; the area that makes up the Outer Banks. In October 2010 the ban extended to all retailers in the region, including small souvenir and bait-and-tackle shops. Environmental concerns were a major reason behind the bag ban.
Litter mars the natural beauty of the area where tourism is a significant element of the local economy. Trash, especially discarded plastic bags can wreck havoc on the delicate coastal ecosystem. The ban was temporarily lifted in 2011 after a tornado touched down in the area; however, the single-use plastic bag ban was reinstated in July 2011.
Future of Plastic Bag Bans in the Outer Banks
After a the 70-44 vote in the House and 30-9 in the Senate, lawmakers rolled back the 2009 law forbidding retailers in the Outer Banks, North Carolina from giving customers single-use plastic shopping bags. Lawmakers and businesses in the Outer Banks mostly support the plastic bag bans in the area and disagree with the decision to override the ban.
State Versus Local Governments
This turn of events in the Outer Banks mimics actions in Minnesota and Pennsylvania concerning state government stepping in to offer unsolicited legislation that limits the power of local governments. In these instances the respective state governments are ignoring the wishes and concerns of their constituents and local officials…
[Plastic takes a long time to get rid of (below), but can resurface fast (see above). Individual action is fine, but collective action can be great – or not.]
https://www.factorydirectpromos.com/blog/the-history-of-single-use-plastic-bags/
The History of The Shopping Bag: Part Two – Single-Use Plastic Bags
Managing Controversy
Reusable grocery shopping bags are such a normal part of everyday existence today, that a lot of people never give them a second thought. That’s because of what happened back in 2007 changed it all, San Francisco made waves by passing a ban on single-use plastic bags. While San Francisco’s ban would go through several revisions and did not become official until 2012, it got a lot of people across the U.S. thinking about shopping bags. In this second installment of our two-part series, we’re going to look into the history of single-use plastic bags. Be sure to catch up on the first part in this two-part series and learn more about the history of reusable bags.
Accidental Origins of Polyethylene
In 1933, chemists in Norwich, England accidentally produced polyethylene. It would take time, but this plastic would go on to become one of the most used materials in the world. In 1960, Celloplast, a Swedish company, figured out how to make bags using thin film polyethylene. By 1965 Celloplast employee, Gustaf Thulin Sten, had perfected the process and invented what is known as the T-shirt plastic bag.
Introduction to American Shoppers
Single-use plastic shopping bags first became available in the U.S. in 1979. In 1982, two of the largest grocery store chains in the country, Safeway and Kroger, began offering single-use plastic bags to their customers. However, at this point, plastic bags were still not catching on in every place.
All that changed in 1985, when a speaker at a convention for the Society of Plastic Engineers, spoke about how inexpensive single-use plastic bags were compared to paper bags. Single-use plastic bags almost immediately began showing up at grocery stores all over the Unites States.
First Impressions
Shoppers in more suburban areas were not sold on plastic bags in the beginning. They preferred flat-bottomed paper bags, which could easily stand up in the trunks or back seats of cars. Single-use plastic bags caught on much more quickly in urban areas, where the handles made it easy for shoppers to carry multiple bags as they walked home. Despite customer preference, retailers preferred single-use plastic bags because of the lower price point. For this reason, plastic bags reigned supreme.
Environmental Impact
During the 1980’s single-use plastic bags had more critics that just suburban moms irritated by their groceries sliding around in the trunks of their cars. Environmentalists began to take note of these omnipresent bags. The first issue was the materials that went into producing the thin plastic film. Polyethylene is made from non-renewable resources, namely natural gas and oil. Extraction and production of these materials come with controversial social and political implications.
Furthermore, there is no acceptable way to handle these bags once they have fulfilled their purpose. If consumers toss their leftover plastic bags in the trash, they end up sitting in a landfill pretty much forever. Single-use plastic bags are also very likely to end up as litter. The lightweight construction makes it easy for a strong burst of wind to lift the bags out of garbage cans or trucks or landfills and carry them off. Plastic litter is a serious health risk to animals and it turns out for people too.
Single-Use Plastic Bag Backlash
Opposition to single-use plastic bags began mounting in the 1980’s and through the 1990’s. In 1997 the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was discovered, and this began to change how people viewed plastics. It was still another decade before San Francisco took that first stand against single-use plastic bags, but the effort has only gained momentum since then. Efforts to ban single-use plastic bags have spread across the world as people are beginning to understand that plastic is bad for the planet.
Alternate Solutions
With plastic bags becoming a controversial item, many shoppers are making the switch to reusable grocery bags. Often made from recycled or sustainable materials, these durable alternatives do the same work as…
When I was a kid we had increasing use of DDT and declining populations of ospreys, hawks, and other raptors. Then we had Rachel Carson. Every time that I see a hawk soaring around my home (a few times each day that it is not raining or snowing), then I think of Rachel Carson. The general mood of environmental activists back then was more focused and work oriented and they were fewer, but shown far brighter.
By the early 80’s environmental activism had become more a fad and social activity than focused work and we had way too many that did not know GHGs from CFCs. We had a movement stumbling about global warming with little idea what the risks were and simultaneously anti-nuclear power despite the naval use of nuclear power aboard ships including submarines and the tremendous reduction in nuclear waste to be disposed that was afforded by recycling spent fuel in breeder reactors. Somehow the most powerful nation on Earth was afraid to transport fissionable material between nuclear generation sites and breeders because we could not protect it from terrorists, so breeder reactors were outlawed by the Carter administration. My guess is that had more to do with the influence of coal and oil lobbies than Bin Laden.
OK, CFCs are also GHGs, but quantitatively far more significant to Ozone loss than climate change.
Also, eliminating CFCs was WAY easier than CO1 or CO2 and methane.
The ban on CFCs worked. Not only did the ozone layer stop shrinking, but as the contaminants decay, then the ozone layer is returning to normal and may be fully restored in just another half century.
this shows no sign of letting up; it spread to 5 more states yesterday alone..
it’s also impacting raptors, and certainly other less notable birds…an eagle was found dead of it in Vancouver, which mean’s it’s also spreading up the Pacific flyway
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info/sa_by_date/sa-2022/hpai-ky-va-flocks
WASHINGTON, February 14, 2022 – The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in birds in two states – a flock of commercial broiler chickens in Fulton County, Kentucky, and a backyard flock (non-poultry) in Fauquier County, Virginia.
Samples from two Kentucky flocks were tested at the Breathitt Veterinary Center Laboratory and samples from the affected Virginia flock were tested at the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Harrisonburg Regional Animal Health Laboratory, both part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. The Virginia and Fulton County, Kentucky cases were confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa. The Breathitt Veterinary Center Laboratory also obtained a non-negative avian influenza test result on the samples from a Webster County turkey flock, and NVSL confirmation is pending.
APHIS is working closely with state animal health officials in Kentucky and Virginia on joint incident responses. State officials quarantined the affected premises, and birds on the properties will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Depopulation is complete in Virginia. Birds from the flocks will not enter the food system.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these avian influenza detections do not present an immediate public health concern. No human cases of these avian influenza viruses have been detected in the United States. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F kills bacteria and viruses.
As part of existing avian influenza response plans, Federal and State partners are working jointly on additional surveillance and testing in areas around the affected flocks. The United States has the strongest AI surveillance program in the world, and USDA is working with its partners to actively look for the disease in commercial poultry operations, live bird markets and in migratory wild bird populations.
Anyone involved with poultry production from the small backyard to the large commercial producer should review their biosecurity activities to assure the health of their birds…