The Jew and the Carrot » Blog Archive » Corn Syrup: It’s What’s for Dinner

Join Hazon's Mailing List

What We're Reading

Books in Our Kitchen
Feeds
- Entries (RSS)
- Comments (RSS)
Meta
- Log in

Corn Syrup: It’s What’s for Dinner

by Leah Koenig · September 8th, 2008

High Fructose Corn Syrup, NYTimes, Opinion, Rant!, Sugar

This morning, while rumbling along the Q train to work, I nearly spit a mouthful of hot tea onto the man standing in front of me, as I surreptitiously read his copy of The New York Times. The cause of my near projectile mishap: a full page, color advertisement for corn syrup.

The ad, which was funded by the Corn Refiners Association (natch) featured a photo of a bagel spread with a dollop of bubble-gum pink cream cheese (decidedly unappetizing), and asked, “Could it be another schmear campaign?” Below the picture it pandered:

“Lately, high fructose corn syrup has had its name dragged through the media. Truth is, it’s nutritionally the same as table sugar. Has the same number of calories too. Even registered dietitians agree that you can keep enjoying the foods and beverages you love, just do it in moderation.”

The ad directed readers to a website called Sweet Surprise – which turned out to be a vapid collection of pages that tried to disguise pseudo-scientific stats and statements like,”high fructose corn syrup enhances fruit and spice flavors” as useful information. It seems that – just like the politicians the ad evokes – corn syrup manufacturers are trying to clean up their sullied public image.

The corn syrup ad campaign falls neatly into the genre of advertisements that sell a “type” of food rather than a particular brand (e.g. peanuts instead of Skippy peanut butter). These ads serve as a food or manufacturing association’s attempt to convince consumers that the food in question is still relevant (milk) or safe for consumption (beef and peanuts), or to generally increase the food’s position on consumers’ radar screen (pork). No matter how flashy or well-designed these ads are, they tend to be founded in fear, as in: “Oh no! Americans aren’t buying this product as much as they used to / we’d like them to.”

This is clearly the case with corn syrup, which has faced tough times since it was bashed as the devil incarnate in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, King Corn, and elsewhere. Both the New York Times advertisement and the Sweet Surprise website focus on the angle that, compared to sugar and other sweeteners, corn syrup is not that bad for you. The website boasts that “The American Medical Association (AMA) recently concluded that high fructose corn syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners.” This spin specifically tries to counter Michael Pollan’s linkage of the rise in corn syrup’s ubiquity with rising obesity levels across the country – particularly amongst America’s working and middle class.

On the surface level, they’re right – from a bodily perspective, sugar is sugar is sugar. But advising people to simply eat corn syrup “in moderation” is ridiculous when it’s in almost every product in the supermarket. And whether or not corn syrup makes people more or less obese per tablespoon than organic cane sugar or honey doesn’t address any of the myriad other systemic problems that Pollan and others have raised in relation to corn syrup (ahem, massive government subsidies to commodity corn growers.)

The corn industry has had just about enough of the mean sustainable food activists bullying their baby, and they’re out to set the record straight. The only problem is, their baby happens to be quite the bully itself.

Print This Post

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

13 Responses to “Corn Syrup: It’s What’s for Dinner”

Avi Says:
September 8th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
The ads are correct. Sugar is sugar. If every product on the market replaced corn syrup with the equivalent amount of sugar you would see the same effects on waistlines. Your issue should be with manufacturers putting a sweetener into everything to begin with and not the corn syrup manufacturers.
dory Says:
September 8th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
There are, unsurprisingly, television ads too.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538.....you-bu?w=1
Hilla Says:
September 8th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Yeah, the television ads are super-cheesy (or should I say corny…). I think the ads are ridiculous propanda by the corn lobby.

I disagree re: “sugar is sugar.” HFCS and white sugar are processed to the point where there is no nutritional value. Better sweeteners are maple syrup, rice syrup, date sugar, agave, molasses, rapadura, raw honey, and others. They each have different advantages which can include vitamins, minerals, enzymes, complex carbohydrates, etc. But higher quality sweeteners are not dirt cheap as is HFCS, so I doubt they will make their way into supermarket food any time soon.
Gersh Says:
September 8th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Avi:
Spoken like someone who doesn’t understand the deleterious effects of corn subsidies on the environment and economy.

Hilla:
The only reason that other sweeteners aren’t as cheap as corn syrup is that they are unsubsidized.

Even though he’s a bit far right for the hemorrhaging valentines of the JCarrot commentariat, P.J. O’Rourke’s thinking about agricultural subsidies over 20 years ago (in Parliament of Whores) is prescient: “Here at last is a simple problem with a simple solution. Drag the omnibus farm bill behind the barn, and kill it with an ax.”
Leah Koenig Says:
September 8th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Avi – it seems like maybe you didn’t read my post all the way through? I made the same point that you did (including that sugar is sugar) – but it seems like you’re trying to contradict me…unless I’m misreading. What gives?

I hadn’t seen the tv version yet Dory – thanks!

Thanks for the clarification about other types of sweeteners Hilla – lord knows I love me some maple syrup!

Thanks Gersh – hemorrhaging valentines! That’s great.
Rabbi Shmuel Says:
September 9th, 2008 at 6:21 am
Leah – play your cards right – the food conference is but a heartbeat away:)

Hilla – sing it sister – not all suagrs are created the same (trust me on this one – I know from whence I speak:)

Gersh – right on! My favorite PJism “Earnestness is just stupidity gone to college” v’hamayvin . . . .
Ketzirah Carly Says:
September 9th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Well, I almost spit a cup of hot tea on my computer monitor reading this.

I’m still not sure I believe that HFC is the same as sugar. We thought Hydrogenated Oil was good for us for years — that turned out to be dead wrong.

I do agree with Avi that a main part of the issue is the over sweetening of freaking everything. I think the idea of advertising HFC is just frightening. The more I learn though, the more I dislike this entire type of advertising. The Milk lobby has everyone convinced they need to drink tons of milk and that’s just not true.
leah Says:
September 9th, 2008 at 8:33 am
okay, I just now watched the commercials Dory posted…hot tea spit out, round two. Talk about political spin…
Mia Rut Says:
September 9th, 2008 at 8:33 am
I found the TV commercials to be offensive. The two I saw this weekend on television in the Chicago area (and yes they are on YouTube as well, because I needed to see them again to believe I actually saw what I thought I saw) the person objecting to the high fructose corn syrup was stupid or shrill and simply had no argument whereas the the condescending pusher of the enzymatic processed corn’s only argument was akin to “how could you be so dumb, corn is good for you.”

Of course due to other advertising campaigns we all know that “milk does a body good” and “pork is the other white meat,” I just hope “duh, it’s corn” doesn’t become entrenched in our lexicon.
Alix Says:
September 9th, 2008 at 10:34 am
I agree with Mia…the commercial I saw had the anti HFCS person stuttering or silent when asked by the other what her objection to it was…she just said something like “You know…” to which the other woman answered “What’s so bad about it? It’s just corn.” Or something like that. Then she compliments the woman’s shirt. Yuck.
Aaron Kagan Says:
September 9th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Yes, but it has the dubious distinction of being “all natural!”

On another note, I have yet to find its equal in making stage blood.

http://www.teaandfood.blogspot.com
Liz Says:
September 16th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Hi, my name is Liz and I work for the Corn Refiner’s Association. I wanted to share some information about High Fructose Corn Syrup.

High fructose corn syrup, like table sugar and honey, is composed of fructose and glucose, which are found in many naturally-occurring fruits, vegetables and nuts. And high fructose corn syrup has the same number of calories as sugar and honey – 4 per gram.

For the most part, you’ll find high fructose corn syrup in the same kinds of products in which you would find sugar or other sweeteners. At the same time, corn sweeteners offer some unique functional benefits that help companies offer more choices in food products. High fructose corn syrup keeps foods fresh, enhances fruit and spice flavors, retains moisture in bran cereals, helps keep breakfast and energy bars moist, maintains consistent flavors in beverages, and keeps ingredients evenly dispersed in condiments.

Price may have prompted manufacturers to switch from sugar to high fructose corn syrup 30 years ago, but it is no longer a primary factor, since high fructose corn syrup has specific and unique functional qualities not shared by sugar. In addition, the price of corn is rising substantially due to demand.

There’s a lot of solid research and information at http://www.SweetSurprise.com and http://www.HFCSFacts.com. Thank you for your consideration.