Corn’s Clean-Energy Promise Is Clashing with Its Climate Footprint

Corn’s clean energy promise is clashing with its climate footprint

Reading Time: 11 minutes For decades, corn has reigned over American agriculture. It sprawls across 90 million acres — about the size of Montana — and goes into everything from livestock feed and processed foods to the ethanol blended into most of the nation’s gasoline.  But a growing body of research reveals that America’s obsession with corn has a steep price: The fertilizer used to grow it is warming the planet and contaminating water. Corn i…

Corn’s clean-energy promise is clashing with its climate footprint

This story is from Floodlight, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powers stalling climate action. Sign up for Floodlight’s newsletter here.  For decades, corn has reigned over American agriculture. It sprawls across 90 million acres — about the size of Montana — and goes into everything from livestock feed and processed foods to the ethanol blended into most of the nation’s gasoline.  But a growing body of research reveals that America’s…