If corn is worth $4 to someone, which it obviously is, then as long as there is not enough corn to go around, the price is going to stay as high as it takes for the guy's who think it's worth $4 to get all they want.  That's econ 1.  If you are producing a product which is in demand and your market will not support production using $4 corn, then either you are going to find a different input to replace the corn, or your market is going to go up until the corn can be paid for.  That's econ 1 also. 

Personally, I think the elasticity of demand for steaks and hamburgers in is relatively low until you start making food costs more then a footnote to the family budget.  I have eaten in lots of places where a meal cost twice what I am used to paying, and so far it has never lead me to decide I wasn't hungary after all.