[Dialogue] Corn in Mexico

[Jack Gilles]

David,

It is in fact true that the rise in tortilla prices and the cost of  
corn is tied to the corn-ethanol craze here in the States.  The price  
of corn is pegged to the international price of corn so that when the  
price rises in the States as it has then the price of tortillas  
shoots up in Mexico.  As for the diet, tortillas are the key staple  
of the diet as well as beans.  This increase is having a real and  
significant impact on the poor and their diet.  It may be helpful in  
substituting for oil (somewhat) but it is far from coming close to  
dealing with the energy situation.

Jack Gilles