The reason it raises food prices is because you have fields tha used to be used for wheat and soybeans being converted to corn...it isn't a little price increase....most of our prices have gone up at least 25% in the last year.
Also, soybeans are being used for biodiesel.
I still firmly belive that the only places where ethanol is a good idea is where you can get lots of it easily....and corn doesn't do that. In the Orchard, we get more apples than we can process for food use...the waste ones are perfect for fuel grade alcohol. Sugarcane...even better (granted it can't be grown in alot of areas, but it is much better than using corn).
I loose 4 mpg when I go between PA and NY gas ( I live 10 miles from the state line)....NY requires more ethanol. Sorry, but when I buy gas, I want the most BTU's per gallon. With high prices, I Don't want to be wasting my $$.