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Someone just now tuning in to the story would think that Iowa has lost its way.

We’ve made our reputation with agriculture and bragged about feeding the world, a job that becomes more challenging every second based on population count alone.

Now the world is entering a food crisis, and what are we doing? We’re using more and more of the world’s most precious land to force corn-based ethanol into the economy. We’re determined to make this work, even as research piles up condemning the idea. It’s not going to solve our energy problems, it just might whipsaw the Iowa farmer, and now it’s contributing to food scarcity around the world.

A recent news article described soaring prices everywhere and even riots over food shortages in some of the poorest nations. “As of December, 37 countries faced food crises, and 20 had imposed some sort of food-price controls,” the Associated Press reported.

The United Nations says its World Food Program is facing a $500 million shortfall in funding this year as it attempts to feed 89 million people. Food costs worldwide spiked 23 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization. Grains went up 42 percent, oils 50 percent and dairy 80 percent.

Iowa was mentioned in Time magazine this week, but not in a way state leaders would hope. In an article headlined “The Energy Scam,” reporter Michael Grunwald refers to Iowa as “America’s biofuel mecca” and asks, “Why is so much money still being poured into such a misguided enterprise?”

Anyone in our situation would find it difficult to turn away from ethanol and biodiesel in a time of sky-high grain prices. But as scientists continue to unearth the dark side of biofuels, it looks more and more likely that those prices are going to go away despite our hard work and fervent hopes.

We’ll look back and realize we ignored widespread suffering, we did it out of simple greed, and in the end we didn’t even get rich.