FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Monte Shaw, Executive Director, 515-252-6249

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 1 , 2007

Click here for Popcorn Fact Sheet

IRFA and Iowa Corn Pop the Popcorn Propaganda

Farm Gate Price Increase Almost Negligible at Retail Level

JOHNSTON, IA – The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) and Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) today held a joint press conference and photo-op to dispel the ridiculous claim that ethanol and higher field corn prices result in higher popcorn prices for moviegoers.  The “Popping the Popcorn Propaganda” event dramatically illustrated this point by displaying what $5 will buy you at a movie theater and from a farmer.

“The ‘blame ethanol’ game has gotten completely out of control,” stated IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw.  “From a consumer standpoint, for $5 you can buy 1 tub of popcorn at a movie theater or 38.5 pounds of popcorn from a farmer, which, when popped fills nearly 12-33 gallon trash bags.  From a farm standpoint, in 2006 the farmer received about 1.4 cents for the corn in that $5 tub at the movie theater.  In 2007, that same farmer will receive about 2 cents to fill that tub.  How can an increase of 0.6 cents to the farmer justify a price hike to movie goers or crazy headlines in the news media?”

“We had a very visual example today of what actually goes to the farmer. You can use this same example when you talk about other products made with corn. For example, a six-pack of soda includes just 6 cents of corn sweetener, or only 1 penny per can. If your soda at the store is going up more than 1 cent per can, then you have to wonder where the rest of that increase is going,” said Craig Floss, CEO for Iowa Corn. “We know that it is not making it to our corn growers, so to blame them for the increase in prices at the grocery story is simply not right.” 

In order to illustrate the point, IRFA intern Paul Brees popped 38.5 pounds of popcorn – the amount you could buy from a farmer for five dollars or the cost of a tub at a movie theater.  During the press conference, the 12 bags of popcorn stood in stark contrast to the one tub of popcorn from a movie theater.

“When you see how much popcorn five dollars gets you from a farmer, its pretty clear a small change isn’t having much impact on the price a consumer pays,” stated intern Brees.  “We stacked it in my cubicle and I could barely sit down.” 

Iowa is the leader in renewable fuels production.  Iowa has 28 ethanol refineries with the capacity to produce over 1.9 billion gallons annually.  There are 19 ethanol refineries under construction or expansion that will add nearly 1.4 billion gallons of annual capacity.  In addition, Iowa has 12 biodiesel refineries with a combined annual capacity of nearly 230 million gallons in operation.  Three biodiesel refineries under construction will add 95 million gallons of capacity.  Many additional renewable fuels projects are under development.

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association was formed in 2002 to represent the state’s ethanol and biodiesel producers.  The trade group fosters the development and growth of the renewable fuels industry in Iowa through education, promotion, legislation and infrastructure development.

Click here for pictures from the event.

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