Short term niche solution
- Early successes cause more interest and more people start asking restaurants for oil.
- "Consolidators" offer restaurants money and corner the market on used fry oil - price rises significantly.
- Still cheaper so more cars are converted to this fuel.
- Government sees potential for revenue loss, but since market now belongs to consolidators they can easily slap a tax on 'em. Consolidators fight the taxes in legislatures under the "ecology" banner but lose to budget strapped government and highway interests.
- To avoid the tax individuals start bidding against the consolidators at individual restaurants further driving up prices. Consolidators buy enough legeslators to pass laws outlawing sale of used cooking oil to entities not paying the motor tax. Individuals and bootleg consolidators are charged and fined or imprisoned.
- Consolidators bid against each other for used oil from potato chip makers and other food processors who are happy to sell to the highest bidder.
- With demand still outstripping supply and price still rising, prime oil stocks start being used. This places motor fuel in direct competition with the food supply.
- Farmers lobby heavily for special "ecology" and "made in USA" tax breaks for food oil as motor fuel keeping it competitive with increasingly expensive and heavily taxed petroleum products.
- Exxon, in a preemptive move, merges with Cargil. Major financial scandles involving food/fuel oils start appearing in the Wall Stree Jorunal.
- With so much feed corn going to motor fuel production, feed lots have to pay a much higher price causing huge increases in the cost of beef and pork. Supermarket meat cuts become tougher, less flavorful and extremely pricy. Soy products offer little relief since most soy beans are now used to produce motor fuel.
- As "Low Carb" businesses retool to promote rice, pasta and potatoes (since most Americans now can't afford meat) the author of "The Power-Carb Diet" makes millions.
