Corn--the subsidized crop

[yellowwood]

We see that the high fructose corn producers want to change its name to "corn sugar." They, along with the rest of the corn producing industry has to find more ways to udr use the huge crop of corn being produced in the Midwest.

Why so much corn? Subsidies. Drive through the Midwest, and you'll see huge storage containers just full of the stuff. Bumper crop this year. Want to know how much the megafarmers are getting for growing too much corn?
http://farm.ewg.org/

They have to think of new ways to get rid of it--more for cars, more ways to cram it into our bodies to make the most obese country.
http://www.sweetdisguise.com/

Think that it's environmentally benign? It must be planted, herbicided, pesticided, fertilized. Corn depletes the soil. On fields that have long history of corn planting, the land is several feet lower than the land where it is not planted.
And orn ethanol takes a lot of oil to process.

Meanwhile, the corn crop replaces other crops of foods that would be nutritious to us and the world.

[Historic NY]

1. Them corn people are sure lobbying the EPA to incease use in gasoline..

The only people making out on it are the growers. It produces less BTU's. I have an E-85 vehicle and a tank of that burns faster than a tank of regular while delivering less miles. Of course it expensive if you have an older car or a classic.

http://echo.bluehornet.com/hostedemail/email.htm?h=b6cf1e7b6bcc1df812b8f5961d60961b&CID=1835386980&ch=311187D4896048C93B2A8C33139EF2C4

[NYC_SKP]

2. I agree 100%. New ads are out claiming HFCS is just the same as any sugar.

You're also correct about Ethanol requiring more energy to create than it provides as a fuel.

Allow me to add that when it's used as feedstock for meat products, you have another gross inefficiency in using land to provide nutrition.

If corn growers had to compete without subsidies, and if we would require more prominent labeling of ingredients so that we don't have to look at tiny lettering to see if the "healthy" yogurt, etc., we are buying is loaded with HFCS or not, we'd become a healthier society and planet.

I am boycotting all HFCS products and I've written letters to a few food conglomerates.

If there's an anti-HFCS campaign out there, please post it and I'll sign on.

Fuckers.

:donut:

[yellowwood]

4. Look at this Link

http://www.sweetdisguise.com/

I really believe that this corn situation has reached crisis proportions. It is the fault of the subsidies. Farmers plant what makes the most money, and now the subsidies cause them to grow surplus corn that they have to find a use for.

If we must subsidize, why not broccoli?

[Erose999]

3. Its not just the Midwest... its here in the South too.

When I was a young'un, there were farmer's fields across from my school. Every season would be a different planting. Cotton, soybeans, peanuts, corn, wheat, etc.

The past 5 years or so it has been corn every single season. No crop rotation at all. I'm afraid all this monoculture, along with the droughts the Southeast usually has in the summers are going to lead to dust bowl type conditions. I know that we have trees and mountains unlike the prairie, so maybe it won't be that bad. But the corn subsidies are definitely ruining the land and agriculture in general.

[MattBaggins]

6. Easy fix to the land problem

We can take the oil we save from converting corn to ethanol and use it to make more fertilizers to grow the corn we need to reduce our dependence on oil.

Should work perfectly.

[NYC_SKP]

5. Effective September 14, 2010: HFCS ----> "CORN SUGAR"

Deserving of it's own OP, we have a marketing strategy to call HFCS "Corn Sugar", doesn't that sound better and healthier?

From wikipedia HFCS page:

Name change to corn sugar

On September 14, 2010, The Corn Refiners Association applied for permission to use the name "corn sugar" in place of high fructose corn syrup on food labels for products sold in the United States. According to a press release, "Consumers need to know what is in their foods and where their foods come from and we want to be clear with them," said CRA president Audrae Erickson. "The term 'corn sugar' succinctly and accurately describes what this natural ingredient is and where it comes from – corn." <78>

The association however did not provide clarification as to a change in what the FDA already considers corn sugar, i.e., dextrose<79> or any of the other corn-derived sugars such as corn syrup and maltodextrin.

:mad:

[Lorien]

7. Legalize industrial hemp. It's a far more useful crop

that could turn half of all corn growers into former corn growers.

We have Nixon to thank for the subsidies.

[MedicalAdmin]

8. And the skeptic patrol arives in ...

5,4,3,2,1.

Cue PronSyrup, et. al.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

9. Hey, MA.

OP didn't really say anything, so there's not much to debunk yet.

But if you want to start in with the "OMG, HFCS is sapping our precious bodily fluids" conspiracy shit, I'll be happy to debunk you.