[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20061802
From my earlier comment [0]:
> Our modern Civilization is more vulnerable to an average once-a-millennium volcanic eruption than it's ever been, on account of our numbers and our dependency on supply chains for our sustenance.
> From the linked article: "In fact, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimated the 2012 worldwide food storage to last for 74 days." (pg. 9)
> Grains are useful because they store well. Storage is not economical, but it is essential for reducing the suffering which would result from an 1816-like scenario in our modern world.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28595353
/methinks it's much better to have a 7-year supply of grain than a 74-day supply.
Wars also cause tremendous disruption to supply chains. The conflict in Ukraine is going to cause massive problems for food distribution.
What do you do with your corn surplus, when it's just not needed? What do you do with stored grains after they're 7 years old, or if they become moldy? Ethanol seems logical.
If we hit an oh-shit moment (loss of growing seasons due to a volcanic winter/war/etc), we can turn off the ethanol plants and use the corn to supply calories for people.
tl/dr: essential to turn off the ethanol plants until we have 7 years of grains stored up.