Land Conversion Ruins Biodiversity and Emits Greenhouse Gases: In 2013, it was documented that 23 million acres of US grassland, shrub land and wetland were destroyed to support ethanol production. This conversion emitted millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the environment. It has been suggested that the use of "PLA for poly mailers makes up barely 0.05% of annual global corn crop," conveying the sense that we “should not worry” about land conversion issues when it comes to PLA. This way of thinking is immensely misleading.

Compostable mailers' low impact today is driven by the fact that PLA/PBAT mailers are still such a tiny fraction of the global mailer and plastic supply. To be truly thoughtful about this question, we need to consider - what happens if PLA mailers become commonplace? It takes about 2.65 lbs of corn to make a pound of PLA (a broader range of 2.5-2.8 lbs corn to 1 lb plastic was shared via a phone call to Kansas State University Extension). If we converted all of our plastic to PLA, we would need to double the world's corn production.

Corn Production Is Largely Fueled By Petroleum: Growing and harvesting corn for ethanol takes a lot of energy - farm machinery, fertilizers, energy required to convert corn into ethanol, transportation, etc. Studies have shown that 74-95% of the energy content in corn ethanol comes from fossil fuels. In other words, there is only a 5-26% renewable energy “profit.”

Corn Results in Excessive Nitrogen and Phosphorus Runoff: The EPA has stated that, “nutrient pollution is one of America’s most widespread, costly and challenging environmental problems, and is caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the air and water” and is driven largely by chemical fertilizers used on industrial crops, manures and discharges from wastewater treatment facilities.

The Ethics and Impact of Growing Crops for Non-Food Uses: In 2000, ethanol represented 6 percent of our corn production. In 2013, it represented 40 percent. This is an astonishing amount of crop production getting diverted away from food for animal or human consumption. Because the United States is the world’s top corn producer, this shift has also disrupted global markets for corn and other agricultural commodities. National Research Council studies suggest that the ethanol mandate raised commodity prices by 20 to 40% from 2007 to 2009. This resulted in farmers seeking more land for production, resulting in millions of acres of land-use change.

Consolidating Power Among Seed Producers: Genetically engineered corn allows chemical companies such as ConAgra and Monsanto to further control our land, our public policy, our soil, and our agricultural economy