I watched the documentary King Corn last night and was pretty disturbed by the reality of the U.S. corn industry. We produce ridiculous amounts of corn and the surplus is bad news for animals and for people. Livestock are force fed mass amounts of corn feed, which causes ulcers, acidosis and many other health problems. One man they interviewed said “It’s a good thing they slaughter the cows when they do. They’d be dead in six months anyway.” Cows are natural grass feeders. It keeps them lean and healthy. Corn feed is far too rich and starchy for them and they are essentially forced into obesity. Their muscles turn into fat and they’re pumped full of antibiotics just to help treat the acidosis the corn feed causes. Believe it or not, livestock consumes 70% of the antibiotics in the U.S.!!
So why aren’t we grass feeding the cows? It’s food economics. Due to the surplus of corn in this country, corn feed is cheaper to buy. As a result, meat is cheaper to buy. Incredibly unhealthy and fattening, but still cheaper. And the U.S. is built upon the demand for cheap food. Nowadays, only about 13% of a family’s money goes towards food. But, of course, this cheap food comes at a hefty price.
What else does this corn surplus mean? High fructose corn syrup. And LOTS of it. A fun little test for you– while you’re checking labels at the grocery store, check for high fructose corn syrup. You’ll be blown away by how many foods contain it. Obviously, sticking with fresh produce is a big help. But this sneaky substance is all over the place.
This is one big factor in the dramatic rise of type 2 diabetes. Which is why it enrages me to see those commercials promoting high fructose corn syrup. It’s just one more strategy for selling corn, and one more step towards an early death. We need to actively cut these empty calories out of our diets, not add more “in moderation.”
It makes me sad to realize that this innocent plant can be the cause of so many problems. I’m not blaming the plant, of course. I’m blaming the food industry for giving it such a bad reputation. Not to mention how corn has transformed. It used to be a much healthier food. But in the crops today, the protein has been replaced with more starch.
I recommend checking out King Corn if you haven’t already. It starts off rather slow, but it gets quite interesting as it goes. I was a bit disappointed, however, that the guys who made the documentary continued to eat meat, even after all they had learned. ::sigh::
Tanya Says:
hmmm I might have to put this on my “planning to watch” list…I have a few other documentaries on there as well. But yes, I totally get your dismay at someone having all the facts and still chosing to eat meat. It just doesnt make sense, but they still do it.
December 8th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Liz Says:
There was a great article this week in USA Today about new research pertaining to high fructose corn syrup. Check it out here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-12-08-fructose-corn-syrup_N.htm
-Liz on behalf of the Corn Refiners Association
December 12th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Liz Says:
In addition to the research referenced in the USA Today article above, you can get more HFCS facts @ http://www.sweetsurprise.com
-Liz, on behalf of the Corn Refiners Association
December 12th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Emily Says:
I was never trying to prove that HFCS was worse than sugar (though I do think if you’re going to use sugar, you’re best option is raw, unrefined and natural). Americans certainly need less sweeteners in all forms. It’s the fact that HFCS is hidden in soooo many foods. A scary amount of foods have HFCS in them and with the drastic rise in diabetes people need to really look at their labels and realize that even if there’s no sugar in the food, there could very well be HFCS instead.
December 13th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Jennifer Says:
Hello, I was just doing a search for other vegetarian bloggers and found you. I watched King Corn myself a couple of months ago and was also deeply distressed by it. As you said, it really is a shame because corn used to be such a protein-rich addition to the vegetarian diet.
December 17th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Greg Says:
Hey Liz,
What about this Princeton study? http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/ “A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.
In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. The researchers say the work sheds light on the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United States.”
I have access to Medline. I could probably find you more if you don’t find Princeton a valid source of info.
May 16th, 2010 at 7:45 am