I don't want to power my car on turkey guts. Yes, this is a real dilemma I may one day have to consider.

This is all rooted in the anything-to-oil business. The basic theory and practice is that any number of materials can be converted into a petroleum-like substance through heat and pressure. The resulting "biocrude" can be refined into various fuels.

Recently, Discover magazine ran a report on a Missouri operation that does just that - the magazine periodically checks in on the plant to monitor the technology's viability. Here's the catch: the majority of the waste used by the plant is offal from a nearby Butterball rendering plant - turkey guts.

This is where a bit of an ethical dilemma arises. As a vegetarian, I tend to reject the slaughter of animals for food. It's my choice, a personal choice, and one I don't expect all people to make. I respect that. But it's a choice I make not just out of compassion for the animals, but also for concerns ranging from personal health to deforestation.

Using offal to generate biocrude carries the same issues, and I'd be similarly opposed to putting the fuel in my tank. If this technology catches on, the manufacturing companies should consider listing what materials were used to make the crude, that way people can monitor what's in it - similar to the ingredients labels on food.

Otherwise, this business of anything-to-oil is fascinating. It raises a lot of questions - does the process result in more energy than it consumes? Does it generate any sort of pollution? Will it discourage much-needed waste-reduction programs? Will there be any peripheral issues? In other words, we should apply the lessons we learned from corn ethanol.

Locally, we might have a chance to get some answers. Casella Waste Systems has filed an application with the DEC to set up an experimental waste-to-energy operation at the Ontario County Landfill. It plans to focus on unrecyclable paper and plastic that come to the facility, the company's district manager, Larry Shilling, told me last month.