Back away from the biofuels, Obama

Sen. Barack Obama should distance himself from subsidies for food-based biofuels. It was an idea that sounded good but so far has fallen short of its expected potential.

It was obvious that making fuel from food would raise the price of food. People thought the rise would be small, but it wasn't. The new refineries' appetites for corn has driven up prices of corn as animal feed, sugar substitute and meal for tortillas in Mexico.

Here in Washington, our bet has been on biodiesel from vegetable oil. The Legislature passed a law requiring by 2009 that all diesel sold in the state contain 2 percent biodiesel. The idea was to buy seed crops from farmers in Washington and make motor fuel with it. Biodiesel would be a wonderful new industry for a state that produces not one barrel of petroleum, particularly if the price of gasoline ever went over $4 a gallon.

Gasoline did go over $4 a gallon. Unfortunately, vegetable oil went up, too, making biodiesel less economic today than it was two years ago. The switch away from gasoline turns out to be an evolution. Biofuels may have a great future — especially if researchers are successful at making fuel out of agricultural waste, such as waste straw — but for now, the promise has not been met.

The production of motor fuel from food depends on a federal subsidy, which makes it an issue in the presidential campaign.

John McCain, who has the luxury of coming from a state not dominated by farm voters, has been against ethanol subsidies for years. He wobbled last winter when facing voters in Iowa, but has since returned to a common-sense position: no federal subsidies for corn ethanol and no federal tariff on imported, cane ethanol.

Obama is from Illinois, the No. 2 corn state, and first beat Hillary Clinton in the caucuses of Iowa, the No. 1 corn state. It would have been difficult for him to oppose corn ethanol in those states, and he didn't. But he has to see what a disaster it's been.

The farmers of Iowa and Illinois, of course, will howl if Obama starts backing away from their beloved boondoggle. Still, he needs to do it.