Assuming that you get all your news directly from press releases, you’re probably already familiar with this story of the truth shining forth despite the best efforts of the sugar-industrial complex to cover it up. With the dead bodies of fat kids. “Today,” it reads, “the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) launched a new million dollar ad campaign designed to put an end to the blatant inaccuracies surrounding the much-maligned ingredient: high fructose corn syrup.” Ah, yes, the Center for Consumer Freedom—so named because “People’s Center for Consumer Freedom,” “Glorious Center for Freedom and Truth” and “Southern Poverty Law Center” were already taken. Apparently so was “Corn Refiners Association,” because that’s who sponsored the press release. They’ve also created the website Sweetscam.com, which sheds some long-overdue light on the conspiracy to make people think that eating a bunch of high-fructose corn syrup will make you fat, when in fact “Some research demonstrates that lean people actually eat more sugar (and less fat) than obese people.” That’s one of the many myths debunked on Sweetscam.com’s Myths and Facts page, along with “sugary sweeteners are bad for your teeth” (in fact, “almost any food left on your teeth for too long will lead to tooth decay over time”) and “high-fructose corn syrup is actually high in fructose.” See, that’s actually sort of a private joke among high-fructose corn syrup’s friends, like the way you call an enormous black man “Tiny.”
My brother, who is not morbidly obese, alerted me to this campaign to salvage the reputation of a valiant industrial sweetener yesterday, when he told me about this advertisement in which a man is unable to identify—from a police lineup including corn syrup, honey and cube sugar—which sweetener made him fat. The Coalition for Consumer Freedom’s argument here seems to be that it could be any sweetener making Americans so disgustingly overweight that they stop thinking of themselves as even capable of being loved by another person—a tactic akin to trying to get yourself acquitted by pointing out that it was a gang rape. Sure, recent studies have linked HFCS to insulin resistance and demonstrated that it often contains high levels of mercury, but have you seen this study about how HFCS is basically harmless? It was conducted by White Technical Research Group, which also makes DDT and, um, high fructose corn syrup.
Exactly why the Coalition for Consumer Freedom has chosen this moment to spend millions of dollars debunking myths about HFCS is more of a philosophical question—I mean, why did Rosa Parks refuse to give up her seat on the bus?—but it might have something to do with the recently proposed tax on soda and other sugary drinks. At a penny an ounce, the tax would generate $15 billion of revenue in its first year* and would be levied against manufacturers, not consumers. It might also do something to reduce Americans’ herculean consumption of soft drinks, which probably has something to do with Americans’ herculean asses. As of January, 34 percent of Americans are obese, and another 32 percent are overweight. That’s two out of every three people, suggesting, at the very least, that the sweetener industry wields more power than the t-shirt industry.
When the federal government tries to tax an industry that brings in $30 billion a year selling a product that A) is completely useless and B) makes people less attractive and, eventually, dead, you can bet some old-fashioned democracy is gonna go down. Rather than present our elected representatives with scientific evidence that drinking eight cans of soda a day won’t give you Type II Diabetes within a month, the Center for Consumer Freedom has taken their message straight to the people—specifically, people who are less interested in scientific evidence than in a man wearing a cupcake suit. They’re also employing the preferred sales technique of contemporary advertising, the Imagined Conspiracy. Much like the makers of Miracle Whip, the Corn Refiners Association trusts us to not give in to the enormous pressures of socially-condoned sweetener conformity and “agenda-driven” experts. “Most of what you think you know about sweeteners is probably wrong,” Sweetscam.com tells us. “Some of this is a product of simple misunderstandings. The rest is a giant scam.”
Exactly who is perpetrating that scam, and for what reason, and how they’ve managed to cover it up for so long, remains unanswered, possibly because the whole thing was thought up by consultants in an ADM boardroom in rural Illinois. What’s striking about the campaign to tell the “truth” about high fructose corn syrup—besides its mendacity—is the degree to which it seeks to replicate the appearance of a grassroots movement. It’s about “consumer freedom” and helping us see through the “scam” of modern scientific research. Like Levis and Kid Rock and the 9/12 Movement, high fructose corn syrup knows that Americans are sick of being told what to do. As John the Baptist and Abbie Hoffman put it, the truth will set you free.
Special interests have recently discovered a new, frightening method of relentlessly pursuing their goals: democracy!
They’ve been directly “preparing the battlespace”–as my Air Force brethren would say–for years by simply bribing politicians. Ok, call them PACs, or whatever, but they’re buying votes.
However, there’s this little problem: democratic elections. See, if a politician acts in opposition to the wishes of his electorate, he gets voted out of power.*
So, you change the wishes of electorate! Stoop to the ignorant, obese level of the populace, and the politicians are now caught in a two-front war!**
Actually, Ralph “God, I hate that f**king Corvair!” Nader was on Iowa Public Radio today, discussing his new book: “Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!” It’s a novel that supposes that the corporations have such a stranglehold on the resource to influence public policy, that it would take our nation’s billionaire$ to pool enough money to speak against them, and for the people.
Nader’s just a bit loony, but he’s on to something here. Especially since corporate interests have recently figured out how to neuter the popular vote, who speaks for what the people actually want and need? Him, I guess! Nader for Benevolent Dictator, 2012!
*Exception: Bush, et. al., 2004.
**See: Health Care Reform. Or, lack thereof.
I shouldn’t be surprised to find out that the Consumer Freedom folks (corn syrup ads) dont allow comments on their youtube videos or channel, but I am pissed. What a contradiction to their patriotic name. Like Fox, who also doesn’t allow commenting on their videos, I assume it’s is because they are unable to handle a free and open debate.
For me, it is not what the sugar type is (cane, corn, beets), it is the amount of this that consumers ingest daily. Both sugar and carbs are turned into sugar in our bodies and the hormone insulin is increased by that consumption to get the sugar out of our blood system into our cells (esp fat cells) and tissues. Insulin is a fat storing hormone. When you have those individuals who have bodies that are more sensitive to this hormone, then they have to watch the amount of sugar and carbs they consume everyday. Most people don’t and therefore become obese. Other people are not sensitive to this hormone and can eat tons of sugar and carbs and never gain an ounce.
All this being said, I don’t believe the government has a right to dictate to people what they can and cannot eat or drink. That is an individual’s right and they need to discipline themselves to eat properly and cut the carbs and sugar out themselves if they are becoming overweight because of it.
The hoax I believe is being propagated on the public is the myth that you should reduce calories and fat in order to lose weight (Calories In/Calories Out). The truth is, they need to cut down on the amount of sugar/carbs they consume instead.
Since I’ve gone on a low carb/sugar way of eating, I have lost 90 pounds, kept off cholesterol medicine, came off high blood sugar medicine and off high blood pressure medicine.
If you are concerned about your blood pressure there are different types of medication you can take to help control or lower your pressure. You might try some lifestyle changes first before opting for medicine. Remember that sometimes medicine is the only way you might be able to lower it. Different lifestyle changes do not always work on their own. First you might consider your diet. Do you consider yourself a healthy eater? Do you think you have a pretty healthy diet? Your diet could be affecting your blood pressure. High amounts of salt and sodium intake can raise your blood pressure. Try to limit your salt intake and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. If you love salt, consider substituting it with a different seasoning. There are so many different kinds of seasonings available you can easily find something to your liking.,
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