All the talk about ethanol being our savior from higher energy prices down the road is a little misleading. As the U.S. tries to become more energy independent with alternatives like turning corn into ethanol, they are missing a very important result of that process.

While ethanol can be used as a gasoline additive (10%), using ethanol in any greater capacity can create a snowball effect on the prices of the other products made from corn.

Obviously, as the demand for corn rises, so will the price for corn. Ethanol is nothing new, in fact it has been made from grain for thousands of years. Only in the last 20 years or so has Ethanol achieved popularity as an alternative for fuel.

So, if ethanol demand increases, and corn prices rise, it is natural to assume that the other derivatives from corn will do the same. So, what are the other products derived from corn?