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An
NCGA Halloween Tale (10-31-01)
It was a chilly
Hallow's Eve and John Cornelius Farmer decided to pack it in a little
early. This was the 40th Halloween that found him finishing corn harvest.
The dog-tired Farmer, a 20-year member of the National Corn Grower's
Association (NCGA), looked forward to a night of peaceful sleep.
That's not what
he got.
John had nightmares
like he had never had before, because on this night, Farmer visited
a world without NCGA.
The first thing
John discovered was without NCGA, ethanol would not have the champions
it does now. People in certain parts of the country would be forced
to continue to use MTBE, the petroleum-based oxygenate additive. Without
NCGA's support of the Clean Air Act and ethanol, MTBE could pollute
the nation's groundwater.
Without NCGA working
with the EPA, providing research data to reject an oxygenate waiver,
who knows what may have happened? States all over the nation may have
decided, "If they can do it, so can we." Ethanol would fade
away like pet rocks, leisure suits, pogs and, hopefully, the careers
of the Backstreet Boys. Without ethanol, the jobs provided by ethanol
plants would disappear. All that would remain is a snippet on the History
Channel... "Long ago, there were people who made fuel from corn,
but they're gone now..."
What of NCGA checkoff-funded
research and business development with money provided by growers in
20 states?? There would be no PLA. No one would know that it's possible
to create a synthetic fiber made of corn that could revolutionize the
field of athletic clothing. People would know nothing of extremophiles,
polyols and fiber fermentation.
The night of fear
continued for John. In his mind's eye, he turned to the plight of the
rivers. In a world without the NCGA, elected officials would not be
made aware of the dangers of 'spring rise' and corn growers and their
families would be at risk of losing their farms and their homes.
Would anyone know
or care that the antiquated system of locks and dams on the Mississippi
River hinders corn growers in their work to deliver their product to
market? Probably not. Instead, corn growers and others would be forced
to continue using 1930s technology in the 21st century while our international
competitors gain bigger shares of world markets.
John was tossing
and turning now, moaning loudly from the anguish facing his subconscious.
In his dream world, he quickly learned without NCGA tirelessly lobbying
Congress to provide President George W. Bush with Trade Promotion Authority
(TPA), international marketing opportunities would slip away. There
would be markets and trade options all over the world, but the U.S.
corn grower would never be involved.
And what did John's
new world hold for biotechnology? In a world without NCGA, paranoia
would run rampant. People would begin to believe the mis-truths told
by uninformed activists and a wonderful opportunity to feed the planet's
hungry would go by the wayside. Sound science would be ignored and the
ill-informed groups would prevent corn growers from using biotech to
provide food from the needy by claiming, "We have enough food.
There's no need for Frankenfoods."
John finally sat
bolt upright in a cold sweat, a scream only barely held in check. His
heart was a jackhammer within his chest as he stared, wild-eyed, into
the darkness. "It was just a dream," he said to himself. A
quick glance to his dresser confirmed his night of terror was only a
dream as his eyes fell on his NCGA cap.
John pulled the
blanket back up to his chin as the wind blew outside. He finally drifted
off to a dreamless slumber, contented with the thought that the nation's
corn growers were safe because NCGA was on the job.
Last reviewed
October 31, 2001
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