Ethanol is not the driver of Iowa’s economy

Thank you for Kim Hagemann's column, “Crops are for food, not fuel” on April 20. This message seems obvious but as Hagemann points out, promotion of corn-based ethanol is "entrenched dogma." Let's learn more about the "85 percent of Iowans [who] believe ethanol is important to the state's economic well-being." Let's talk about what economic well-being means, Iowa. Does it include healthy soil, clean water, air quality, education across the spectrum, and a Legislature that serves 100 percent of Iowans?

Eighty-five percent is a lot of entrenched Iowans. More farm-to-table and less farm to gas tank, Iowa. We have fallen behind on ecological sustainability. Iowans should instead learn from farmers growing food to feed local communities via community supported agriculture, or CSAs. Iowa's economic well-being should include educators, young people, small farmers, grocers big and small, public health, university agriculture programs that interconnect with primary and secondary public schools, main street businesses that care about sustainability, city planners, and the DNR. More food for thought, Iowa.

Gretchen Reeh-Robinson

Mount Vernon