Advertisement @ High Fructose Corn Syrup

[SadieKate]

Anyone seen it on TV? It specifically targets HFCS and that it is "OK" in moderation, just like sugar.

http://www.sweetsurprise.com/index.php

[Zen]

Is there a link?
I'm confused.

[SadieKate]

Sorry. Just edited to make it clear it's a TV ad.

[snapdragen]

Must've gotten themselves a PR firm, to help with the bad press HFCS is getting.


Coke still tastes better made with real sugar......:)

[Flur]

I saw that ad. I found it disturbing, especially since the girl is pushing a popsicle on the guy. I'm willing to bet that the popsicle is probably the healthiest thing the marketers could find that had corn syrup in it.

For me the ad had the opposite of the intended effect - it reminded me to read labels and to avoid corn syrup in the products I buy.

[Mr. Bloom]

Coke still tastes better made with real sugar......:)
Look for Mexican Softdrinks in the International Section of your grocery store. Pure Cane Sugar

One of the good things about biofuels is that it's changing the cost dynamic of food inputs and may make HFCS unattractive to processors. I suspect that the PR campaign is designed to create a consumer demand for something that no one knows is there...so demand won't fizzle for HFCS if the demand for biofuels declines.

A few years ago, SilverDaughter was diagnosed with a corn allergy. It was terrible. Corn derivatives are in EVERYTHING. Xanthum gum is another derivative that comes to mind...used as a filler in many foods. Corn powder is used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. She wouldn't eat veggies and this left few things she could/would eat except Home made bread (which I made for her weekly) and Pasta.

[Pedal Wench]

There are two ads that I've seen. The one with the mom's pouring "juice" for their kids is really disturbing.

[Irulan]

HFCS is the devil food.

I love that one of our markets is now carrying a line of breakfast cereal that is affordable ( not labeled "organic) but sweetened with regular sugar.

It's a real challenge to try to avoid that stuff.

[pinkychique]

Think of it this way: the more refined/processed the product, the less healthy it is for you. And in the case of HFCS, which is really in almost ANYTHING (even in mustard!!:eek:) do you really want to put something in your body that is called High Fructose? It has been linked to diabetes and I recently heard a study found that your body converts it directly to fat, so why would you want to have that in any amount?

I still think that sticking to the natural sweeteners (fruits, honey, etc) is safer than anything manufactured. Not to mention, think of all the processing energy you're saving by eating something that wasn't processed anywhere close to where HFCS is?

[Aggie_Ama]

Must've gotten themselves a PR firm, to help with the bad press HFCS is getting.


Coke still tastes better made with real sugar......:)

And Dublin Dr. Pepper made with Imperial Sugar is amazing. It is one bottler that makes it the old fashioned way.

[Zen]

We here are a pretty educated lot and very aware of health and nutrition issues.
The sad thing is that most people aren't and this nonsense will work on some people.
As for their "QuickFacts", some are sentence fragments taken out of context and the rest could be rebutted with "true, but..."

[NoNo]

I saw the popsicle one Friday night and immediately texted my friend in disbelief. I guess the upside is that enough people must be making changes away from eating HFCS for them to feel they need to lure them back.

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I stopped eating things with HFCS about 5 years ago. I dropped about 15 lbs right off the bat. Makes you wonder. Now I think they are just calling it "corn syrup" in foods. I've seen it on a couple of different packages....

[Flur]

I remember over the summer hearing that the cost of meat was going up b/c traditionally farmed animals (eww!!) are fed corn, and the cost of corn was up b/c there was not enough corn to meet the demands of meat farmers, consumers and now fuel suppliers. I would have expected that any loss of demand for HFCS would have been replaced by the E81 (or whatever it is) fuel demand (since we were hearing it was so high) so this commercial just screams "selfishness at any cost!"

BTW - while I was writing this, I saw the popsicle commercial again!

[SadieKate]

Why "ew" to traditionally farmed animals? What does "traditionally" mean to you? And animals have been fed corn forever. Matter of fact, our farm grows its own corn to feed to its own animals - feed and animal right on the same farm cutting out much of the transportation cost.

Growing food to produce fuel is a new one to our human history, but not feeding corn to animals.

[bounceswoosh]

I saw that ad and also had an instant "WTF?" reaction. It's appalling. And then I thought, wait, why *are* we supposed to avoid it, other than that it's a processed food (which is definitely a strong argument against it in my book)? Anyone have any solid facts?

This mayo clinic article against HF corn syrup isn't exactly brimming with awfulness:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fructose-corn-syrup/AN01588

Here's an article on why rampant corn growth is bad for the ecosystem:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/06/AR2008030603294.html

Here's an article on how it can make you fat:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/18/FDGS24VKMH1.DTL

[bmccasland]

For what it's worth - sugarcane isn't an environmently friendly crop either. One of the biggest sources of sediments and chemicals in our bayous are the sugarcane fields. And they get away with it. The land owners aren't called "Big Sugar" for nothing.

But I'd rather have cane sugar than high fructose corn syrup.

And let the cows eat the field corn. Me, I enjoyed an ear of sweet corn for dinner last night.

[dachshund]

Why "ew" to traditionally farmed animals? What does "traditionally" mean to you? And animals have been fed corn forever. Matter of fact, our farm grows its own corn to feed to its own animals - feed and animal right on the same farm cutting out much of the transportation cost.

Growing food to produce fuel is a new one to our human history, but not feeding corn to animals.

Not that this was directed at me, but I'm adding my 2 cents anyway.

I thought the problem with corn was specifically with cows. They have rumens and are "designed" to eat grass. A total corn diet can make them sick, hence the reason for antibiotics. But this is usually mentioned along with the factory-farming situation, where they're kept in close quarters, and fed some fairly noxious stuff along with the corn.

In my mind, "traditionally farmed" means less fertilizer and pesticides along with proper diet and some amount of grazing. You know, the whole "happy cow" scenario. :-) But I just read about farming, I don't have any first-hand knowledge.

It's interesting that the "Corn Refiners Association" is paying for advertising. Maybe the rise in diabetes has finally gotten some attention? I suppose that's too much to hope for. They're probably just suffering under the current economic conditions. But HFCS is supposed to have some interesting molecular characteristics that contribute to obesity and diabetes.

[SadieKate]

It's that term "traditionally farmed" that can mean so many things.

Our cows are sure not fed a pure corn diet; they're in a pasture and get silage in winter (a mixture of corn with grasses) which is a pretty old "traditional" practice originating with the Greeks and Romans.