Corn: How Much Do You Eat?

Aw, geez, now I can't even enjoy my Orville Redenbacher? ;-)

but... but... i love corn...

This looks like an interesting documentary... The corn economy is complex and it's not getting simpler. Another good source of information on the dominance of corn in our diet is The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

On the other hand, is there anything more beautiful than a freshly-picked ear of corn immediately steamed and served with salt and butter?

Of course, even in a diet that allows for some moderation and diversity, I would never think about suggesting grabbing a McDonald's Big Mac and Coke.

Also, I don't understand how people freak out that regular soda has so much HFCS in it. Don't drink it. Drink diet if you have to drink soda. Also not a super choice, but it has no HFCS in it.

Wow, almost all of the food we eat contains corn. If ever some serious problem happens to corn, lots will be affected including food for the livestock. I guess there are lots of corn-like substitutes to enhance our food.

Just got diagnosed with a MAJOR CORN ALLERGY! I had to cut it completely from my diet! I have lost 3 pounds since last Thursday. It has been the hardest challenge of my life so far though just because of how much it is in everything. Please go to http://www.cornallergens.com/

Which is why the current obsession with corn base Ethanol scares me. As we grind up our corn supply to fuel our cars, we increase the possibility that our food prices will increase (have to feed those cows, right?).

If our food supply is so tied to corn, taking a massive portion of it out of the food supply and creating fuel seems to me is likely to increase the cost of our energy ... not offset it.

Not to be an alarmist...just my thoughts.

Wally said:
Wow, almost all of the food we eat contains corn. If [...]

...all the 'processed', 'convenience' food you eat contains corn.

And the solution is?? Invest in real food. Buy the expensive real maple syrup and not the thinned down with corn syrup rubbish...use less and savour it. Wean yourself off the processed artificial foods (which is what it is in the end), learn to drink water as a quencher, herbal teas...etc etc.

By the way, diabetes in native Americans was unheard of until the US government 'took away' (eventually banned for quite a time) their native, lower carb nutrient dense corn. The hybrid corn developed did not sit well with their genetic makeup and is still today the major contributor to the rampant diabetes/obesity found amongst them...this and eventually being romanced away from their traditional foods...again consuming far more 'white man's corn' hidden in processed food.

In the mid 1900's (or so) this was pointed out the the US government at the time...who was not interested - afterall this was a time when the Native Americans were not allowed to leave their reservations and they were 'only Indians'. Eventually they had the choice of growing their own corn, only if their crop could not jepardize other 'white man's corn' crops (wind carrying pollen).

Fortunately, blue corn and other native corn, as I understand it is available in some US health food shops.

Point is, I would suspect that since many Americans have some (or like to pretend they do ;>D ) Native American blood, this could predispose them to the rampant corn allergies or diabetes in the US. I wonder?

Mousefinger said:
Which is why the current obsession with corn base Ethanol scares me. As we grind up our corn supply to fuel our cars, we increase the possibility that our food prices will increase (have to feed those cows, right?).[...]

If our food supply is so tied to corn, taking a massive portion of it out of the food supply and creating fuel seems to me is likely to increase the cost of our energy ... not offset it.

Not to be an alarmist...just my thoughts.

The reason our food supply is so tied to corn is because of those billions of dollars of subsidies the government still pays corn farmers decades after they should be. That makes corn so plentiful and cheap it's practically given away - which is why McD's uses it so extensively. It allows them to sell cheap food at a high profit margin! Adjust the subsidies and corn won't be the cheapest filler ingredient for processed food anymore. Personally, I don't see a problem with corn-filled food prices going up because it' obvious that that type of food is making us fat (so we don't need to be buying it in the first place).

And can't the cows eat grass? If they did, their milk and meat would be much more nutritious for us.

Beef in the US hasn't been raised traditionally since generations. There is such a HUGE beef consumption increase in the US that there just isn't enough grass. Besides, the grain is an easy way to control all the additives they add to the feed and makes raising them in smaller areas easier to manage.

I'm glad to live in a country where the cattle is grass-fed and the corn is not GM, that is all I have to say.

I had whole-wheat and oat-bran tortillas that I rolled in corn flour yesterday for both lunch and dinner, though. That is the only corn in 2 weeks. The only processed foods I had in the last 2 weeks are diet sodas, so no corn there.

I eat very little corn, and do not miss it.

It helped when I realized that corn is NOT a vegetable, but a grain.

Brian

I don't eat a lot of processed food, but I do love popcorn and corn on the cob. I get my corn on the cob from my father in law, who grows it in his garden. It's not GM for rootworm protection or sprayed for borers, so sometimes you get some funky ears, but it's really good most of the time. I think the main thing you have to do is avoid most processed foods and check ingredient lists carefully.

I think that the government should be subsidizing corn for ethanol production for the petroleum industry. E85 fuel could become a lot more prevalent and I'd rather have my car run on corn than me.

I despise how difficult it is to shop for something as basic as bread to find one without high fructose corn syrup. And sure, making my own would resolve that problem. I'd love to. Except that I'm a college student, on a budget, and with only a microwave in my dorm. So if I want bread, it has to be store bought.

Trans fats are made from corn oil. If we can recognize the hazard of trans fat, we have to recognize a hazard from all corn products and corn additives. It is very difficult, but the best way to protest is to not buy it. What if it all boils down to being corn. Not old fashioned butter and cane sugar, but corn. How come the government is paying people to produce the stuff and publishing a pyramid telling us to eat it? Follow the money.

frances - excellent point, IMO

Dani - although I would never own one (I prefer to muscle it ;>D in your case I see the sense of a bread machine. These things really do all the steps for you and produce decent enough bread...and they take up very little room. At least you could control this one area of your nutrition yourself...and make bread in whatever combination you like!

I don't like the idea of genetically-modified corn, although I've known about it for a long time. I wonder if that's why Erica has a corn allergy now. I know I became sensitive to a lot of foods I could previously eat when the food industry began to modify their ingredients this way.

I eat a lot of whole foods but only eat sweetcorn and not corn itself unless it is in cereal, I only buy the cheapest health foods because I am on a tight budget and cannot afford the organic stuff that even that does come into contact with genetically modified food stuff. But I am a unique example of health for eating only whole foods even if they aren't organically produced because many people eat a diet rich of saturated fats, sugars and salt generally and it is these foods that will cause a lot more than cancer, so corn is to be avoided sure, but so too the rest of the foods people consume without thinking about what they are eating.

I am amazed by people's diets given the amount of media surrounding healthy eating, but still I see people eating really nasty foods like microwaved foods that are served in hot plastic! - there are chemicals in plastic that leak into the foods causing chemical reaction that eventually leads to some form of cancer. Everything our food is wrapped in, contains poisons however subtle or extreme and so corn is like every other product going out there. It just sets out to poison because there is stuff sprayed onto it to make it tastier, larger etc etc............the same as they do with packaging.

We will all die of cancer and because nothing we eat is safe anymore not even organic produce.

Just about any organic compound can be refined and processed into other things that could be harmful. So why is corn being singled out? Because its cheap and plentiful, thus easy to exploit by manufacturers?

I'm sure there are a variety of other plants that could be a corn substitute for all the things we use corn for, if cost were not a factor. But then, they would be producing the same results as corn. Corn isn't the problem. If we could go back in time and rewrite history and pick carrots as the food product that could be exploited for all the things we used corn for today, some people would probably blame carrots promoting health problems, right?

It seems that we, as a society, can't come to grips with modernization and technologies that reduce costs and increase production if those things bring health hazards along the way. We don't want the hazards, but we still want the benefits. Such is the tragedy of a modernized world. Guess we have to settle for a balance of the two.

But I sure would take a modern world with the hazards of I MIGHT get cancer, versus, a subsistence existence planting my own crops without any aid from modern techniques and tools, then hope I have a good year.

I adore corn, especially fresh on the cob - but I don't touch corn now - to high in calories, and when I used to indulge I would cover it in butter. So until I reach my goal weight, I won't have any corn. However, once I reach my goal then for an occasional treat I will have it - no butter of course. Lady Rose

I'm not really a fan of corn but it's good to know that it's contributions are too many and are far too important to have an effect in our lives, given the fact that it's the food given to livestock and the ingredients of some processed foods.

I have several concerns with corn:
1) The high prevalence of GMO corn.
2) Processed corn ingredients. Over processing of food is a major health concern as far as I am concerned.
3) Ecological effects due to industrial farming methods.
4) Industrial use of corn (ethereal) coupled with high subsidies in the US causes hardship in Mexico.

No, corn itself is not bad, but the way it is grown and used is a huge problem!

Kudos!
This is a very important documentary. I am severely allergic to corn and it's been a real trial. Thanks. :)

Government subsisizes corn, sugar, milk, tobacco and wars. They legaized abortion under false pretenses. For ten years, the professionals at the EPA have been telling the world that fluoride is killing people but our extermination by fluoridation continues. They permit widescale use of aspartame while the FDA maintains a list of 93 symptoms of aspartame poisoning--www.dorway.com. They said their unlimited money would keep its value "if there were fewer people bidding against each other." For documentation see: www.morpix.biz/eco Also: www.morpix.biz/x3

i think that no one should be able to geta big mac and coke because its very bad for you with all the corn in it.

what is hfcs?