The Corn Refiners Association has come under fire by the FDA for using the term "corn sugar" in place of High Fructose Corn Syrup. A chemical by-product of corn.
It's not sugar. Ever tasted field corn? Bout the most bitter bite you'll ever take. Promise ya that. Nobody knows what Original Maze tastes like. We have genetically altered Corn so much to the point its pure hybrid anymore over the last century. Classes of Corn:
Field Maize <-----very bitter, not sweet. Main source of "Corn Sugar"
Standard (su) <------practically not grown in America anymore. Has more starch than Field Maize.
Sugary Extender (se) <----what you may grow. My personal favorite.
Supersweet (sh2) <-----what you're probably growing in your Garden.
These are listed in grade of hardiness. FM has practically no pests, and is unbelievably resistant to herbicides. sh2, on the other hand, is very susceptible to corn worms and can't handle any kind of herbicide.
Anyway, the Corn Refiners Association wants to rename HFCS to "Corn Sugar". I'd say it's a ploy to make us eat more of it. Though study after study has shown the body has an incredibly hard time processing and breaking it down and may be related to our Diabetes crisis.
The solution? End Farm Subsidies. One thing Republicans like from the New Deal is farm subsidies. They propped up farmers during the dust bowl, who lost everything. They still exist today and billions of our tax dollars go into farm subsidies. Which is fine, if it went to small farmers. They go to Massive 10,000acre "Corporate" farms. In theory, this Government paycheck keeps things cheap for the consumer.
Opponents, like myself, say the subsidies keep High Fructose Corn Syrup's prices dirt cheap, so much so, using actual sugar from Sugar Caine is a fine commodity.
So it becomes a damned if you, damned if you don't situation. If you do nothing, more and more people will keep getting diabetes (perhaps), saturating our already-stressed medical infastructure. If you rid of the subsidies, you can bet these farms will jack the prices up to break even, or gouge the prices in protest. Now the entire food supply gets expensive, save only Rice. Would producers swiftly move to sugar in drinks and foods, ditching HFCS? Would American's be okay paying up to 50 cents more on a pound of beef?
I grew up in an area where they make this "poison". I believe that high fructose corn syrup has played a big part in America's obesity epidemic. People need to read up on HFCS and stop using products that contain it. I mean, why else would the EU ban it?
ReplyDeleteI remember while visiting Missouri some friends and I looted a corn field. That. Was. The. Most. Discusting. Corn. Ever.
ReplyDeleteAlso too, sh2 varieities cannot be planted with se or su hybrids, as the crop will fail or produce se corn entirely. good read, my friend.
ReplyDeleteWhy attack another industry? We don't like it when people attack ours!
ReplyDeleteAre you saying my industry is strip mining? I'm underground. Always have been. Always will be.
ReplyDelete