My dear readers, I recently had a horrible experience – one so disturbing that I must share my outrage with you.  While watching the occasional episode of Law & Order, I happened to notice a new commercial.  It began with two moms talking in a picnic setting.  One is pouring a bright red sugary drink for a group of kids.  The other says to her “Wow, I guess you don’t care what your kids eat.”

The first woman says, “excuse me.”  
“It’s made from High Fructose Corn Syrup,” said the other woman.  
“What’s wrong with that?” asks the first woman.  The second woman stumbles and cannot answer.  
“Why, because it is made from corn, and like sugar it is fine in moderation,” says the first woman.



I sat in horror.  First, let me say that corn syrup may have originated from corn, but in its syrup form no sooner resembles corn than plastic does.  Corn syrup is so chemically processed that can be manipulated to nearly any ratio of fructose/dextrose that a food chemists desires it to be.  In addition, most – if not all forms of corn syrup are made from genetically modified corn – specifically corn seeds from companies like Montsano that have altered the dna of the plant to make them “bug resistant” and/or sterile – forcing farmers to re-buy seeds each year.  These altered seeds have less nutritional value than artisan organic seeds and the detriments of the altered dna remain untested.

There have been many studies – from such reputable organizations as the Mayo Clinic, the US Department of Agriculture and many others advising consumers to avoid corn syrup and illustrating the hazards it poses to our health.

Well, for more than thirty years, the food industry has used corn syrup as a super cheap sweetening and preserving agent for processed foods.  You can find it in nearly every processed food out there today – from Special K cereals to Coke and Pepsi.   

Well, as the nation’s obesity became an epidemic and consumers began examining what they eat and reading labels, corn syrup came under scrutiny.  The corn refining industry has banded together to take aim at protecting its income, resulting in this advertising campaign.

Please let me once again state my horror at this irresponsible and manipulative tactic, which is purely motivated by greed and financial gain.  There are NO health benefits to corn syrup – even this campaign tries to compare it to White Sugar – which is also bad for you.  Corn syrup is not found in high quality food products, fine dining establishment or local, homemade offerings.  The sweetened equivalent of MSG, corn syrup is found in cheap, crappy processed foods that are usually devoid of any nutritional value.  They are empty-calorie foods that simply make you fat and unhealthy.

I urge you, as careful consumers, to share your outrage at this sleazy media tactic by emailing or writing to the Corn Refiner’s Association:

Audrae Erickson
President
Corn Refiners Association
1701 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20006-5806
Phone: 202-331-1634
Fax: 202-331-2054
pressinquiry@corn.org


By the way, if you think that this is not politically motivated, please note that the ads were posted on YouTube by someone named TrueChristiandotcom — to me, this speaks volumes!