Should people be able to buy what they want? Most people would agree with this principle, as long as the production, purchase and use of the product itself isn’t harmful to others. Economic freedom depends in part on being able to purchase what you want, when you want, from whom you want, assuming the seller agrees. This principle of voluntary free trade – both the seller and the buyer believe that trading is beneficial to them – forms the basis of a prosperous economy.

While few people would disagree with this principle, what might not be so obvious is that this principle also applies in reverse. People should be able to refuse to buy anything they don’t want. This is equally as important to economic freedom as the first principle. If the seller is guaranteed to sell his product, even when the buyer doesn’t want it, then it is no longer voluntary exchange; it becomes coercion.

The current ethanol market in the United States is not based on voluntary exchange.  Its market is mandated by Congress, and enforced by the EPA, rather than through voluntary exchange between buyers and sellers. Congress mandates ethanol use through the Energy Independence and Security Act, which was passed in 2007 and required that the nation use 36 billion gallons of ethanol by 2022. Refiners who add ethanol to their fuel mix are complying with the federal mandate.

Would consumers have voluntarily decided to use ethanol without the government mandates? No one knows, because the market is not allowed to function correctly. Nevertheless, there are questions about demand for the product. Many environmental groups that advocated for the mandates have been disappointed with the product since it hasn’t even come close to meeting their expectations for helping the environment. The ethanol mandate has also diverted corn from being used as feedstock, raising the price of different meats and other food items. Higher food prices can cause hardship for many struggling to make ends meet, and in developing countries these high prices could mean hunger or even starvation.

Refiners are adding ethanol because of the mandates, not necessarily because they are responding to market demand. If there is underlying demand for the product, then the mandates should not be necessary anyway. If we want individuals to be able to decide what they want to purchase, and what they don’t want to purchase, we must end the ethanol mandates.