Corn in Your Food

What is the issue here?
Processed corn - in the form of a product made from corn - is present in nearly 11,250 items found in grocery stores today. Ingredients include corn syrup, corn starch, dextrin, carmel coloring, xanthan gum, and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Corn appears even indirectly in meat - it is what most livestock are fed - and milk - most dairy cows live on corn.

Why is this an issue?
The presence of corn itself in most of our food is due to a complex agricultural system, but it can be summed up simply because: corn is cheap! Currently, the American government subsidizes the growth of corn, meaning that many farmers choose to grow it. A large amount of corn is produced each year (about 241,885,200 metric tons in the U.S. alone) resulting in an excess of commodity corn. Because corn is cheap and federally supported, corn has found its way into food as various processed ingredients. 

How does this effect you?
While there are no conclusive studies that indicated the effects of corn by-products in your food, it is important to consider the larger implications of corn's overwhelming presence. 

First, the ingredients in your food that are derived from corn aren't wholly natural. For example, xanthan gum, a common food additive, is created by altering carbohydrates chemically. There may not be anything apparently wrong with consuming this, but much of your food isn't natural because of all the processed ingredients it contains. Instead, your food consists of human made fillers, substances, and chemicals.

Second, the politics behind processed corn continue to make corn prices cheaper,  thus decreasing profits for the American corn farmer. This may not bother every modern consumer, but researching the political and environmental stakes behind corn may change your mind about the increase of corn by-products in nearly all of our food. Please check out the links section for more information.

Third, the health effects of HFCS, while still under debate, are important to be aware of. HFCS is an artificial sweetener made from corn, which has replaced sugar in modern food because of its ability to be shipped and added to food easily. HFCS isn't just found in soda, candy, or fruit juices; a wide variety of products like bread and bologna now contain HFCS. HFCS is linked to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. What you should consider here (even if you don't believe HFCS is any worse for you than sugar) is that HFCS is many, many food products. Given this, you should check all or your food items for HFCS in order to consume it in moderation - as you should with all sugars.

Below is an ad used by the Corn Refiners Association to promote HFCS. This clip is an excellent example of how all three of the above implications are involved, and how the supporters of processed corn are trying to refute them.