HFCS

This commercial showed up on television the other day. I don't know if its been around a while since we don't watch much television, but I found it extremely interesting and aggravating all at the same time.

Along with this commercial coming on scene, this website (HFCS Facts) and this website (Sweet Surprise) have also popped up.

There is so much information out there about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) being bad for you. And make no mistake about it, it is. But, simply hearing its bad for you and being an instant HFCS-Nazi is not a good idea. You then risk looking like the woman in this commercial. Know the facts behind the decisions you make.

The claim that HFCS is a 'natural' ingredient is far from the truth. That in and of itself is deceitful. HFCS is made up of almost all genetically modified chemicals and is most definitely made using genetically modified corn (GMO corn).

GMO corn was created in the early 90s. It was was man's attempt at creating a product resistant to pesticides and herbicides that their fields are saturated with. Farmers can drench their fields with pesticides and herbicides and the corn plants remain unaffected. Insects won't even eat GMO corn as it was developed to be insect tolerant.

The name of the seed used in the majority of GMO corn is 'Round-Up Ready Corn'.

Sounds appetizing, doesn't it?

If something has a corn product (Corn Syrup, HFCS, Cornmeal, or just plain corn) in it of any kind and is not certified organic, you can know without a doubt that product was made with GMO corn. The vast majority of the country's meat within the traditional meat industry is fed GMO corn (yet, another reason to eat grass-fed meats).

A good summary of the HFCS and corn crisis is the movie KING CORN. This movie is highly entertaining and informational as well. There are overwhelming statistics that are in this film. The guys who made this independent film even attempted to make HFCS in their own kitchen. It was a bit scary watching what they put in this stuff.

My all-time favorite quote from the movie is from a corn farmer in Iowa. He states proudly in the movie,"We're not growing corn. We're growing crap."

Sweet.

There is a vast amount of information out there about GMO corn and the other genetically modified foods that our government allows. I could type forever and not even cover the surface of this. Corn is an important issue. Its in everything it seems like. I could not even find a bag of hamburger buns at the grocery store without HFCS in it.

Here is a brief list of the GMO foods allowed by our government, but know that within each of these categories are several varieties of GMO seeds.

- corn
- soybeans
- cotton
- tomatoes
- potatoes
- rapeseed (canola)
- sugar cane
- sweet corn
- rice

If there was an ingredient I'd choose to omit from my diet, it would be anything containing GMO corn products. There is some disturbing info about this stuff. A better option would be to buy organic corn products. Most of the packages say "Made with non-GMO corn".

I hope this doesn't come off too critical and harsh. My heart is to educate and encourage others to educate themselves so conversations like in the commercial don't happen. I get so aggravated when I see commercials and websites like the one above as if Americans are silly enough to sit back and believe whatever is put right in front of them. But, don't just take my word for it or believe these commercials and website. If its a concern of yours, I encourage you to look into it and dig a little deeper and read labels.

Have you seen this commercial?

What are your thoughts?