U.S. ethanol group wants origin labeling for oil

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According to Reuters, “A U.S. ethanol industry group is pushing lawmakers to craft legislation requiring fuel companies to inform customers what country their fuel came from in hopes of increasing awareness about money spent on oil imported from overseas.

“Most Americans don’t want their paychecks going to Venezuela and other regimes that don’t agree with and support the U.S,” said retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark, who co-chairs Growth Energy, the industry group behind the push.

Clark said Growth had spoken with lawmakers such as Collin Peterson, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and others from fuel-producing states, urging them to craft legislation that would require such labeling.

The United States spends tens of billions of dollars a year on protecting shipping lanes for oil, said Clark.

Some of the money could be saved by increasing production of U.S. oil and developing alternative fuels like ethanol and fuel-sipping cars, he added.”

Source: Reuters