Micah Wiener has more from the State Capitol:

According to USDA data, beef prices have gone up between 2-4 percent in the past year.

In Missouri and across the country, Corn prices have gone up because ethanol has fueled more vehicals... and fueled more demand for the crop.

John Kleiboeker is the Executive Director of Missouri's Beef Council.

He says the price of corn is just one part of the increase in meat prices.

The Ethanol distilling process also creates protein bi-products that can be fed to cows and other animals. 

Missouri is the 2nd largest beef production state in the country.

From the Capitol, I'm Micah Wiener, KMOX NEWS

A current mandate requires half of the state's government vehicles run on E85 fuel. 

According to the global subsidies Initiative, Missouri currently gives 19.3 Million Dollars in subsidies toward ethanol and biodesiel production.

That's the third highest total in the country, behind Minnesota and Illinois.

Carlisle Runge is an economics professor at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities as well as an expert on Ethanol.

He says the fuel is percieved as green and renewable, he says it is neither.