High Fructose Corn Syrup...mmmmm

[MisterMike]

I found this interesting. Makes you want to check and see if there are any organic grocers in your area for a couple of reasons:

1) It's just healthier.
2) Your money goes to local farms and not corporations who are more concerned with a profit than your health.

http://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/cornsyrup.html

Today HFCS is used to sweeten jams, condiments like ketchup, and soft drinks. It is also a favorite ingredient in many so-called health foods. Four companies control 85 percent of the $2.6 billion business—Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, Staley Manufacturing Co. and CPC International. In the mid-1990s, ADM was the object of an FBI probe into price fixing of three products—HFCS, citric acid and lysine—and consumers got a glimpse of the murky world of corporate manipulation.

There's a couple of other murky things that consumers should know about HFCS. According to a food technology expert, two of the enzymes used, alpha-amylase and glucose-isomerase, are genetically modified to make them more stable. Enzymes are actually very large proteins and through genetic modification specific amino acids in the enzymes are changed or replaced so the enzyme's "backbone" won't break down or unfold. This allows the industry to get the enzymes to higher temperatures before they become unstable.

Consumers trying to avoid genetically modified foods should avoid HFCS. It is almost certainly made from genetically modified corn and then it is processed with genetically modified enzymes. I've seen some estimates claiming that virtually everything—almost 80 percent—of what we eat today has been genetically modified at some point. Since the use of HFCS is so prevalent in processed foods, those figures may be right.

 

[MisterMike]

One more link:

http://www.idsnews.com/story.php?id=17483

According to Havel, "Fructose doesn't stimulate insulin and therefore doesn't increase the production of leptin." Conclusion: you can consume large quantities of foods that are high in high-fructose corn syrup and never feel full. Basically, the empty calories from the high-fructose corn syrup make a clear dash for your waistline. What's troubling is that many of our most common food items are loaded with this stuff (soda, frozen yogurt, popsicles, fruit juice and applesauce). How on earth did we get ourselves into this mess?

In the early 1970s, Japanese scientists developed a way to derive an inexpensive sweetener from corn. It didn't take long before the American food industry started to incorporate high-fructose corn syrup into the manufacturing of its products. In fact, just a generation later, sugar has now become a scant ingredient in most of our commercial food and consumption of high-fructose corn syrup has skyrocketed.

In 1970, the average American consumed about a half pound of high-fructose corn syrup each year; by 2000, that number had soared above 63 pounds. In that same time span, yearly soda consumption doubled from 25 gallons per person to 50 gallons.

Many Americans would probably argue that "greedy" corporate moguls in the food industry are getting richer as Americans get drunk (and fat) off high-fructose corn syrup, but there's more to the story. Since 1981, the U.S. government, through a price support system, has consistently set the price of sugar at about three times the world market price. The intention is to help out farmers with a guaranteed income; sadly, this policy is aiding a select group yet hurting millions and millions of people. Because of price supports and limited imports, food manufacturers are forced to use high-fructose corn syrup or -- as some American companies have done -- move production to other countries where they can get free-market prices for sugar.

Because of the artificially high price of sugar, an oversupply of the crop has occurred. To combat this, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has bought the excess sugar and stored it in warehouses with rents of more than $1 million a month. What could possibly warrant such an asinine move? In 2000, the sugar farmers contributed $13 million to political campaigns and committees.

 

[ginshun]

So HFCS is pretty much just sugar made from corn right?


Homer says:

mmmmmmmmmm.............HFCS.

 

[MisterMike]

Hehe, yes, genetically altered corn and altered enzymes which has to be processed by your liver.

I for one just about NEVER drink soda (pop, tonic, coke, etc.) but it's in so may other things it really doesn't matter.

As long as they don't put it in beer...

 

[ginshun]

Hehe, yes, genetically altered corn and altered enzymes which has to be processed by your liver.

I for one just about NEVER drink soda (pop, tonic, coke, etc.) but it's in so may other things it really doesn't matter.

As long as they don't put it in beer...

I am have a degree in agricultural engineering and worked within the industry for about 5 years, so I can tell you with a pretty high degree of certainty, that you will be hard pressed to find any corn in this country (or anywhere for that matter) that hasn't been somehow, at some point genetically altered.

 

[dubljay]

I am have a degree in agricultural engineering and worked within the industry for about 5 years, so I can tell you with a pretty high degree of certainty, that you will be hard pressed to find any corn in this country (or anywhere for that matter) that hasn't been somehow, at some point genetically altered.

Oh? If memory serves me correctly there was a nasty trade agreement/dissagreement between the US and the EU (European Union) about geneticaly modified (GM) foods. The EU wants no part of it. Also African countries are refusing GM crops from the US because the EU won't trade with them. Let me do some research to back this up. I remember talking about this in my humanities class 2 years ago. Things could have changed.


*edit*

I stand corrected, the EU lifted the ban of GM crops in May, according to the BBC newsite. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3727827.stm


The thing that bothers me the most about GM crops is that all this modification is done without the consent of those who have to eat it. I know we always have the choice of local orgaincally grown food, however the fact remains that most US citizens (atleast in my experience) have no clue about GM crops, let alone all the soy and corn products they eat are GM.

 

[dubljay]

As long as they don't put it in beer...

Well you may have to be worried about this. Back in my humanities class a couple years ago where genetically altered crops were a hot topic, I heard about how they were starting to alter wheat and other grains the same as they have for corn and soy. It may not be HFCS but it will still be modified crops.

 

[JAMJTX]

Look at the increase in obesity in the U.S. beginning with the use of HFCS and the increase of both.

HFCS is a dangerous product is also likely responsible for widespread gastrointestinal disorders.

In moderation it is likely not too harmful, but as widely as it is used it is definitely causing a national health crisis.

Jim Mc Coy

 

[Ray]

I don't know about all that, but there sure is a lot of corn out here in Iowa.

 

[MisterMike]

Well you may have to be worried about this. Back in my humanities class a couple years ago where genetically altered crops were a hot topic, I heard about how they were starting to alter wheat and other grains the same as they have for corn and soy. It may not be HFCS but it will still be modified crops.

Great. Time for a home brew kit...

I'd ask this at my favorite microbrew but they'd all probably turn around and be like..."Huh??????"

 

[JAMJTX]

'specific amino acids in the enzymes are changed or replaced so the enzyme's "backbone" won't break down or unfold'

Which is one of the health problems, it is not digestable.

 

[MisterMike]

Here's some alternatives:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/list_allstores.html

http://www.wellnessgrocer.com/ ships to your home.

 

[ginshun]

Can anybody post specific cases of genetically modified food of any kind causing health problems in people? I here a lot of hoopla about how bad it is, but not much to back that up, other than the fact that people are "messing with nature".

As far as buying locally grown organic veggies, that doesn't neccessarily mean that you are not getting food that wasn't genetically modified at one point. Even if it was generations ago, unless you trace back the specific variety or corn or whatever it is, you don't know what you are eating. Just because you go to the store and buy the seeds and grow it yourself, doesn't mean your not eating genetically modified food.

I honestly fail to see how genetically modifiing crops is a bad thing. If somebody can genetically modify a corn plant to be more resistant to disease and insects, and to produce higher yields, and to grow in harsher climates, how exactly is that a bad thing?

The thing that bothers me the most about GM crops is that all this modification is done without the consent of those who have to eat it.

I guess it comes down to what exactly you consider to be "genetically modified" Are seed companies that have researchers cross breeding/polinating different varieties of corn in order to get more resistant varieties genetically modifing those plants? I would say yes, as the product is genetically different that the originals. If you look at it like that then pretty much all the food has been genetically modified at one point. Do you think the corn that native americans were growing when the pilgrams came over is the same as corn you eat today?

 

[dubljay]

Can anybody post specific cases of genetically modified food of any kind causing health problems in people? I here a lot of hoopla about how bad it is, but not much to back that up, other than the fact that people are "messing with nature".

As far as buying locally grown organic veggies, that doesn't neccessarily mean that you are not getting food that wasn't genetically modified at one point. Even if it was generations ago, unless you trace back the specific variety or corn or whatever it is, you don't know what you are eating. Just because you go to the store and buy the seeds and grow it yourself, doesn't mean your not eating genetically modified food.

I honestly fail to see how genetically modifiing crops is a bad thing. If somebody can genetically modify a corn plant to be more resistant to disease and insects, and to produce higher yields, and to grow in harsher climates, how exactly is that a bad thing?

While I have yet to see any cases of negative health effects from GM foods it doesn't mean that there wont be any. The genetic modification to make them more resistant to bugs or to grow in different climates is not bad. My problem lies with 'round-up ready' crops. Meaning the sole purpose of the modification is to allow farmers to dump more weed killer on their crops so they get a better yield. I think that poses a health risk, not just to people but to animals in the area as well as the enviroment in general. What would happen if this 'round-up ready' gene were some how to 'escape' and breed into another type of plant, that new plant would pose a threat to many ecosystems at the possibility of taking over because there is nothing we could do to kill it. Furthermore these modifications have been made without the general knowledge of the public, the USDA and FDA never really made much of a big deal about it. Why? Simply put most of the people working in the USDA and FDA either still work for, or used to work of the companies that provide modified seed. Now to me that seems to be a conflict of interest for the USDA and FDA as their job is to ensure the safety of our foods. The whole scheme behind GM crops is not about better crops its aobut the weedkiller companies finding a way to ensure their profit.

Genetic modification has been going well before we understood anything about cells. It began by selecting certain plants over others, cross breading them with another type to obtain a certain trait. So GM itself is not bad, its the intended use of weed killer that is my problem with it.

 

[ginshun]

While I have yet to see any cases of negative health effects from GM foods it doesn't mean that there wont be any. The genetic modification to make them more resistant to bugs or to grow in different climates is not bad. My problem lies with 'round-up ready' crops. Meaning the sole purpose of the modification is to allow farmers to dump more weed killer on their crops so they get a better yield. I think that poses a health risk, not just to people but to animals in the area as well as the enviroment in general. What would happen if this 'round-up ready' gene were some how to 'escape' and breed into another type of plant, that new plant would pose a threat to many ecosystems at the possibility of taking over because there is nothing we could do to kill it. Furthermore these modifications have been made without the general knowledge of the public, the USDA and FDA never really made much of a big deal about it. Why? Simply put most of the people working in the USDA and FDA either still work for, or used to work of the companies that provide modified seed. Now to me that seems to be a conflict of interest for the USDA and FDA as their job is to ensure the safety of our foods. The whole scheme behind GM crops is not about better crops its aobut the weedkiller companies finding a way to ensure their profit.

Genetic modification has been going well before we understood anything about cells. It began by selecting certain plants over others, cross breading them with another type to obtain a certain trait. So GM itself is not bad, its the intended use of weed killer that is my problem with it.

So that must mean that you know of some specific cases of people getting sick because the food they ate was grown using too much herbicide/insectiside?


So who gets to make the decision as to which types of GM are OK, and which ones are not? You?


Should it be illegal for farmers to use herbicides and insecticides now? I mean don't get me wrong, I think organic farming is great, I have a garden of my own. The fact is however, that large scale agriculture doesn't work without herbicides and insecticides. It just doesn't.

I will agree that the increased use of herbicides and incecticedes is probably not good for people, but I also think that if the food is sufficiently cleaned before being eaten, most of the danger is eleviated.

As things sit right now, you have pretty much two choices, either farmers use herbicides and insecticides, or they grow one heck of a lot less food than they grow right now.

Unless you have another solution that is.

 

[Phoenix44]

One of the concerns about bio-engineered foods is transfer of allergens. For instance, suppose you transfer some gene from a peanut into a tomato plant. Peanut can cause life-threatening reactions in some individuals. That tomato could kill a peanut-allergic person who thought he was just eating a tomato! So the argument was, at least the tomato should be labelled. But if plants tend to cross-pollinate spontaneously, you could eat an UNengineered tomato with the peanut gene. This was one of the issues in the EU corn situation.

 

[Cryozombie]

Can anybody post specific cases of genetically modified food of any kind causing health problems in people? I here a lot of hoopla about how bad it is, but not much to back that up, other than the fact that people are "messing with nature".

Once I had this genetically altered corn and it ate my dog.

 

[CrankyDragon]

I just LOVE and ICE COLD COKE!

Well, A&W Root Beer is great too!