IOWA CITY, IOWA – Former Iowa Hawkeye Chad Greenway, currently wearing No. 52 as a linebacker for the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, joined the effort to make American more energy independent with ethanol – appearing in three videotaped messages for Growth Energy, the coalition of American ethanol supporters.
“The better we are at growing our fuel today, the better off our kids will be tomorrow,” Greenway says in one of the three videos – all available on YouTube at www.youtube.com/growthenergy. Another Greenway video will play on the JumboTron during Saturday’s Iowa Hawkeye’s game in Iowa City, Iowa, as part of Growth Energy’s Ethanol Producers …
“Chad Greenway is not only an outstanding athlete and a smart competitor, but he was raised in the heartland. He knows how important ethanol is to the American rural economy, our capability to raise the grain we need for both fuel and food, and how important it is we develop our own sustainable, renewable fuel,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy.
Raised on his family’s farm in Mount Vernon, South Dakota, Greenway graduated in 2005 from the University of Iowa, where he was a standout college football player before signing on to the Vikings roster.
In the videos, Greenway celebrates “America’s homegrown fuel,” and recognizes ethanol production as a way to create new U.S. jobs, cut greenhouse gas emissions and reinforce America’s national and economic security. In one video he points out that ethanol’s byproduct, distillers grain, provides a vital source for livestock feed. “Take the protein in a kernel of corn,” he says. “It doesn’t go to make fuel – 100 percent is returned to the food chain in the form of livestock feed.”
In another video, Greenway debunks the myth that growing corn for ethanol raises food prices by pointing out that commodity prices declined last year, but fuel and food prices still rose.
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About Growth Energy
Growth Energy is a group committed to the promise of agriculture and growing America’s economy through cleaner, greener energy. Growth Energy members recognize America needs a new ethanol approach. Through smart policy reform and a proactive grassroots campaign, Growth energy promotes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, expanding the use of ethanol in gasoline, decreasing our dependence on foreign oil, and creating American jobs at home. More information can be found at GrowthEnergy.org.