Previously I questioned the corn in my coffee cup but at that point in time the whole picture was not yet clear... It is all clear now thanks to Douglas Coupland's hilarious book Generation A, a couple of documentaries (see below) and a few good Google searches (High Fructose Corn Syrup).
Documentaries you must endeavor to find.
King Corn. This aired on PBS so you can probably watch it on their site PBS
Food Inc.
Warning Food inc is not for the squeamish in fact start with King Corn and then if you still want to know more move on to Food inc.
I am not anti corn, I love a nice cob done on the BBQ at the end of summer and the peek of freshness. But the stuff that they grow in Taber AB and Chilliwack BC that we buy off the back of a farmers truck or at farmers market in August each year is edible corn that needs time and space to grow.
However, most of the corn grown in the United States (and unfortunately in Canada too) is not edible fresh off the cob. It needs to be shipped, stored, and processed before it can become food stuffs.... WHAT THE HELL.... Ask a Corn farmer in Ohio if they eat what they grow - Good Gawd No - is the reply...
REALLY!!! REALLY! THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GROWING OVER 1000 ACRES OF THE SHIT????
Easy answer - Government subsidies and demand.
Who on earth would buy this shit you ask... well lets start with what contains these modified corn products?
North American food products are loaded in modified corn products from starch to dextrin to high fructose corn syrup, get up and read the labels of any of the processed foods in your house you will be shaking your head right after...
Got chocolate milk? Its got corn.
fruit juices - seriously some of these have no fruit at all just natural flavors (what are those?) and you guessed it - Corn syrup.
Bread - well how else could they get that pretty Carmel color with our using high fructose corn syrup (umm gee maybe using honey- duh)....
Every chip, cracker and crisp on the market is loaded in boiled down corn called high fructose corn syrup.
Beef - please it is basically made of fat generated by corn fed feed lot protocols
And the biggest use of High fructose corn syrup - Soda Pop -YUP thats why it is oh so sweet.
In fact, I think this whole phenomenon of using a sugar alternative (we would not want to be reliant on importing sugar cane from Cuba etc) is to meet the demands of Coke and Pepsi for a super cheep sweetening agent for soda. I am not blaming them - just a little confused about why the American Government farm subsidy program would be using tax payers dollars for the last 30 years to give a major corporation like Coke or Pepsi a break... Do they want food products that are full of harmful empty calories fed to the people of their great nation? Do they want 1 out of 8 Americans to have diabetes induced by pure overload of the pancreas? REALLY??????
As far as the fairly newly created Beef industry problem - Once a rancher sells cattle to the feed lot (like Cargil feeding the world at what cost) the Cattle are fed corn for 100 - 160 days in a feed lot where they have little room to move around (exercise burn those precious calories) ensuring they fatten up fast and cheep.
Everyone seems to agree that Grass fed beef tastes better, is 65% lower in saturated fats (the bad ones) and is so much kinder to the animals stomachs (and my moral conscience). But it is more economical to feeding Cattle corn not grass which they have evolved eating but this cost cutting measure leads to many problems including ulcers and acidosis in the cattle and a huge problem for the people eating them massive potential for out breaks of resistant E coli bacteria).
Okay so I am ranting and panicking that everything I buy is not what it seems. (Damn those fast and easy Chinese food sauces I love are full of corn because they are made in USA). The solution vote with your wallet - buy products that are what they are... Milk that is milk (add your own coco if need be), beef that is beef (an not an antibiotic filled corn fat factory), and just don't drink sweetened beverages (this includes all those fruit drinks we let our kids drink for breakfast). If you find a brand that is not using sweeteners to mock flavor reward them buy purchasing them exclusively or even write them a letter if you have the time to tell them how much you appreciate there quality! ALSO TELL YOUR GROCERY MARKET YOU ONLY BUY THIS BRAND BECAUSE.....
Support the grass fed beef in your community. There will be more of it for a better price if we as consumers encourage our supermarkets and local meat shops to provide it. Check out your local farmers market and ask the vendors if they have free range meats. Ask for details and they will tell you exactly what the animals ate, where, and for how long before they were your steak.
I am afraid if you want to avoid hidden high fructose corn syrup (and other sugars) you can't eat processed food from fast food restaurants like Mc D's or DQ and the like. Read the labels watch for corn starch, corn dextrin, and Corn syrup. Decide if you want those extra calories and look for alternatives I bet they will taste better!
Corporations bottom lines, and government farm subsidy programs should not dictate your health - you are in charge of what you put in your mouth. It may mean expanding your food budget or just putting in more time making food from scratch but in the end you will be healthier and I bet you will take pleasure in feeding your family.
PS did you know that most Yogurts contain gelatin (not news for carnivores but for the vegetarians and peoples who do not eat pork you did just eat pork gelatin in your activia, silhouette, danonne, and pc brand yogurts). If you want gelatin free with no added weirdness (and no corn) Astro is the way to go their plain, and vanilla Balkan styles are still good for you... They are what they say they are - that is all I ask.
