I love these high fructose corn syrup ads that the Corn Council has been putting out recently. Its their way of saying “you’re stupid, so you will eat this.”
You’ve seen them, right?
There are a few, in one there’s a man and a woman sitting on a picnic blanket in the park. The woman offers the man a bite of her popsicle “want a bite?” and he says “I thought you loved me?” to which she replies “okay, two bites” and the man says “that has high fructose corn syrup in it” and the wife asks “So?…” The man just stares at her with a blank look on his face because he doesn’t know the answer.
Do you know why it’s bad for you? Do you honestly believe that because you don’t know the answer then that makes it okay to eat? It’s like people who eat a few extra slices of cake because they don’t know how many calories are in it, so that makes it zero, right? We all know there are still calories in it and it’s not doing them any good to keep on eating. It’s the same with High Fructose Corn Syrup, just because you don’t know why it’s bad for you doesn’t mean that it’s not hurting you to eat it.
I may make a YouTube response to those commercials, where just the ending is changed, so that rather than staring at the other person with a blank expression when they ask, I can reply “I’m so glad you asked! Let me tell you!”
In fact, I’m so glad you asked! Let me Tell you!
HFCS messes with the way that your body functions because your body processes it differently than it does regular sugar. It causes your liver to throw more fat out into your bloodstream, which causes your body to store more fat, as well as tricking your body into wanting to eat more by suppressing the chemical leptin, which tells your brain when your stomach is full.
And why do I care so much? Because this stuff is in everything! The NCC claims that it’s safe in “moderation,” but since it’s used in everything, it’s impossible to consume in moderate amounts. Companies love to make use of it because it’s cheap and it acts as a preservative. I can try as hard as I want to avoid it, but it always sneaks into something. The fact that the FDA allows so many things to slip through for the sake of profit makes me furious. The FDA seems to know more about money than it does about health. This is why we all need to pay attention. Get angry. Don’t let them get away with it.
As for what you can do specifically; write letters and emails to companies that use this product. Tell them that you will not continue to buy their products at the expense of your health. For corporations, especially big ones, each email the recieve counts for several thousand opinions. This is because for each email they recieve, there are several thousand other people who agree with the person, but didn’t write emails of their own. This actually matters to companies! You may not believe me, but try writing to a company with any sort of constructive criticism or complaint, make sure you are polite, and ask for a response. Usually a company will say on it’s feedback forms how many business days you can expect to wait for a response. If they do not respond, then they don’t care about their customers and don’t deserve your business. Don’t buy from companies that don’t care about their customers. Their products will be consumed by you and your loved ones. Don’t risk it.
Raving Tomato 
