Why is there no public outcry about High Fructose Corn Syrup?

Question

High Fructose Corn Syrup is in so many things. It is so bad for you - browse the internet for details or follow this link: http://www.sprol.com/?p=236
Manufacturers are moving away from Transfats. How can we pressure manufacturers to use natural sugar again?

Answer 1

There should be. I can't even buy salad dressing b/c 99% have HFCS. And apple sauce, why do they need to add ANY sweetener? I have to buy a special kind (and pay more)so I can get it without sugar. We Americans even feel the need for sweet toothpaste - did you know that they put fake sweeteners in toothpaste? No wonder this counrty is obese. Don't even get me started on fake sugars. Our bodies evolved on natural sugars, why is putting fake, chemical sugars in your body any less healthy than drinking all those chemicals under the kitchen sink in most house holds? They might have a quicker affect than all of the chemicals we eat in processed food, but they are both equally incidious.

BTW, HFCS has the highest glycemic index of any known "food" so even if you don't have any problems with weight, you chance damaging your arteries every time you ingest it.

Hmmmm...Maybe the fact that so much of the corn these days is going into the production of ethanol, will make it too expensive for manufacturers to put it in every food they produce. The problem may actually resolve itself, but don't count on it.

c-ya

Answer 2

I remember Bill Mahr trying to bring up this subject on his television show a couple years back. The guest panel and the audience seemed pretty lukewarm. If I remember correctly, Howard Dean was the guest at the time, and he responded something to the effect that medicine in this country is based on healing sicknesses, and not encouraging health & wellness and disease prevention. Since nobody cares about disease prevention, nobody cares about HFCS.

The natural sugar thing will only happen when we
1. decriminalize importing of sugar from cuba. Beets & Sugar Cane don't grow well in the USA compared to corn.
2. figure out a way to keep the corn syrup industry from influencing politicians so much. They have lots of money, and they're very generous. Some other profitable industry must compete for the politicians attention with lobbying dollars.
3. Give corn farmers something equally profitable to grow, or alternative uses for the corn, such as ethanol. Their lives depend on this by product of farming corn. Unless there's a viable alternative for them to make a living off of, their states will not support legislation of any kind concerning HFCS.

I live by a railway in Pittsburgh. There are hundreds of tanker cars passing by every day that look like oil tankers. But if you read the labels, its millions & millions of gallons of HFCS. Creepy.

Answer 3

Anyone who doesn't think that HFCS should be completely removed from the human diet should read "Fatland: How America Became the Fattest Land in the World" and "Fastfood Nation". If you can read both those things and still be okay with eating HFCS you weren't paying attention.

I started researching HFCS and all of the chemicals made from corn when my mother become allergic to corn. It continues to blow my mind the number of products on the grocery store shelf that contain them. All Campbell's soup. Almost every kind of bread including supposedly healthy brands like Orowheat. Most cereals. Most juices. ALL sodas.

We have to shop at five stores on a regular basis to find everything we need without corn in it. I've also learned to explore my local area for great bakerys and specialty stores. I've learned to make things from scratch I didn't even think were possible six years ago. Marshmallows, cream of mushroom soup, and even bread.

My family and friends talk about this all the time. We wish there was something we could do. Maybe that one answer was correct and the use of ethanol made from corn will increase the prices so that it will no longer be cheap. Of course, the studies on ethanol are saying the version made with corn is more polluting than gasoline (ethanol made from sawgrass is better).

Hints: Replace corn syrup with can syrup. Replace corn meal with cream of wheat. Research, research, research, and don't be afraid to try anything. Your grandmother made everything from scratch, raised your parents, kept house, maybe worked and still managed not to find time to knit toilet paper cozzies.

Answer 4

Fats occur in many forms all across the biological spectrum. The only place where sugar occurs naturally is in the form of honey. While I agree that HFCS is very bad, I also believe that sucrose in most of its form is almost as bad. Even pure fructose refined from its sources is not good. Big Sugar is about as powerful in America as Big Tobacco and Big Oil. There is no "Fat lobby" that I know of. The only way to pressure food manufacturers is not to buy their products. This often means forgoing entire food groups that are the exact same food in hundreds or thousands of different, brightly colored wrappers. For most people, this is almost impossible. I often don't know what to do, but I DO vote with my dollars. This is often frustrating and time-consuming. My opinion: It is far more like to harm you in the long run to eat a candy bar than it is to eat a home-cooked hamburger patty or a fried chicken drumstick.

Sad, isn't it?

Answer 5

yes absolutely. it is just as bad if not worse than saturated fats.

if saturated fats increase the chance of heart disease, HFCS increases the chances of diabetes.

watch out for it on sweet foods, gatorade,powerade,some juices.

that's why i never drink energry drinks.

sugar is not much better than HFCS 2. at least not in the amounts the average person consumes.

even without transfats, those items with lotsa sugars, fats are still not healthy.
high fructose corn syrup increases the lifespan of the product and is cost effective. it will be hard to get rid of.

the answerer below knows way more than i do. i guess it's not just even about glucose tolerance huh?

it's also about the arteries.

Answer 6

Corn syrup is a LOT cheaper than cane sugar,the government has a lot to do with the ridiculous sugar prices. It's also why most candy/food plants are moving to foreign countries.

Answer 7

Oh my God! Not high fructose corn syrup!!! Let's start a grass roots campaign to end this nonsense!

Answer 8

Fabulous question! If I could award points for asking a great question I would! (Maybe I can? Let me know...)

Anyhow, I don't buy products with HFCS in it. I try not to consume it at all, but that's hard when you go out to eat. I know I'm only one person so my dent isn't big as far as manufacturers go, but I also care about what I put into my body. It is really daunting and hard at first, but if you go to a good organic &/or natural store, you'll be surprized about the variety available. It also helps to buy fresh and make your own food too.

Here are some links to stores to see if they're in your area:
http://www.newseasonsmarket.com/
http://www.wildoats.com/u/home/
http://www.wholefoods.com/
http://www.traderjoes.com/

Also check your area for Farmer's Markets and local co-ops. Remember it's best to buy local to support your economy and get the freshest food.

Good luck to you!

Answer 9

everyone who would like it eliminated,write to the manufacturers who make what you object to.Just decide what a solution is. If thats out what do they substitute? If its sugar it will be too gritty,same for say splenda and if they use something like splenda the prices will sky rocket.I am a diabetic and would dearly love many foods without all that sugar.

Answer 10

I don't know, so many great tastes have been spoiled by this move it isn't funny. I love sugar compared to all other stuff used instead. Maybe when Castro goes and we get someone we like in Cuba we can buy more sugar and use it.