For many months, an intense debate has been waged among interest groups and politicians in Washington over the role of corn-based ethanol in higher food prices.

The issue is coming to a head now, with the Environmental Protection Agency poised to decide soon whether to roll back the Renewable Fuel Standard. That's the federal mandate calling for the production of 9 billion gallons of biofuels in 2008 and even greater amounts in the future.

It's one of a handful of federal government policies spurring on the boom in corn-fed ethanol plants. Those facilities are gobbling up the country's corn, which raises the price for corn and other crops.

Under federal law, the EPA has the power to waive or reduce the fuel standard if necessary to protect the environment or the economy of a particular state, region or the country as a whole.