HFCS

[daisan]

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy has just released a study that shows about a third of the high fructose corn syrup used in common foods is contaminated with mercury.

Like it wasn't bad enough to begin with.

Warning: Self-Righteous NaturaFoodie Snark

Comments

[vitriolicverity]

Oh come on... "You know what they say about high-fructose corn syrup." "What, that it's all natural and made from corn?"

Uh, no. I freaking HATE those commercials. Even more reason not to ingest the stuff.

[daisan]

Oh, those commercials are maddening. Grrrr.

[moonsend]

Agreed.

[annafirtree]

You both might appreciate this:

http://mkoleary.blogspot.com/2009/02/oh-how-i-love-to-piss-on-corn-refiners.html

[annafirtree]

Ever since I read that open letter to Obama by the food guy, whatshisname, I've been thinking about what the best way would be to change our food system. If subsidies as they are now successfully managed to make corn a cheap food (which was their goal back in the 50s or whenever), then how do you set up subsidies, if your goal is to have everyone eating sustainably-raised local foods?

[moonsend]

If you just get rid of the subsidies, the problem will work itself out in several years.

[annafirtree]

I think that the immediate effect of dropping all subsidies would be to make a lot of farmers go bankrupt, and possibly lead to serious food shortages. At the very least, we need some transition. But I'm also not sure that sustainably-raised local foods is really the natural solution that an unaltered economy will gravitate towards. In the long run, that might be the most profitable for a company, but companies tend to be about profit in the short term, and I'm not sure sustainably-raised local foods would be the most profitable in the short term, even without the corn-supporting subsidies.

[moonsend]

Given that a majority of the farms that get the subsidies are the giant corporations, I doubt it would make a lot of farmers go bankrupt. A few, maybe. I doubt it would lead to serious food shortages though. The prices on some things would jump. I do think that some level of phasing out would probably be easiest on the majority of people.

They also need to remove some of the artificially high tariffs on other foods to level out the playing field. Essentially, I think the government needs to get the heck out of the farming businesses altogether!

[novemberhour]

*rubs forehead* Stupidity induced migraine incoming.

[pink_aster]

Fuck.