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In this corner we have economists, environmentalists and the Grocery Manufacturers Association. In the other corner, their scrappy opponent is Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa. At stake: the future of ethanol.

Last week, the ol’ Iowa farmer wrote a letter to companies such as Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., Barilla America Inc. and Cargill Inc., asking them as members of the Grocery Manufacturers Association to call for an end to the “national smear campaign against ethanol” being “led by” their group.

The campaign “is blaming U.S. biofuels policies for the rising cost of food and global food shortages,” he wrote.

“The facts prove that the rising cost of energy, worldwide economic growth, global weather problems, rising marketing costs and the weak U.S. dollar all have a far greater impact on rising food prices than biofuels.”

It certainly seems that various things have gone to pieces all at once. It’s mysterious that oil prices have zoomed upward so fast, no matter how much growth is suddenly taking place in China and India. But it’s clear that soaring ethanol production during the past couple of years has made a significant difference in how we allocate corn, and corn is a big factor in the world’s meal planning.

When Jeffrey D. Sachs wrote in Time magazine about the global food crisis, he framed “the biofuel nonsense” as one of three issues to be addressed, along with providing high-yield seeds and fertilizer to farmers in poor countries and helping farmers prepare to handle droughts and other natural disasters. That sounds pretty good.

When Allan Sloan wrote in Fortune magazine about “The Dangers of Ethanol,” he suggested a more radical approach: “a big honking gasoline tax … would have been a better energy policy than the cornographic panacea they’ve given us.”

That would be an effective course, too. But sending seeds to Africa seems much more likely.