Blackout wrote:

I don't understand how they can get away with using it practically everything if it's so bad.

1) The agriculture lobby is incredibly powerful. For example, when we passed a bill granting subsidies for ethanol producers, it all went to the dirty and inefficient corn ethanol, instead of the cleaner, more efficient sugar cane ethanol.

2) Americans don't give a shit. Nowadays, you can buy a 12-pack of snack cakes or soda for less than a pepper, and because a lot of us are raised in a way that desserts and sugary foods were rationed for the sake of our health, and they're now cheaper than ever (thanks to corn syrup), we're all as fat as our wallets.

It's fairly plain to see that American obesity can be directly linked to HFCS. It's the reason why fatty foods are cheap, which creates the dilemma of getting more than what you pay in the short term, but creating problems later on (obesity leading to disease and disability, etc.). I'd like to see something that can edge out HFCS that's healthier and provides more of an incentive to grow, but as long as I can buy a pack of Oreos for the same price as a pineapple, I'm not holding my breath.

ToGdor wrote:

Greg the White wrote: Blackout wrote: I don't understand how they can get away with using it practically everything if it's so bad. 1) The agriculture lobby is incredibly powerful. For example, when we passed a bill granting subsidies for ethanol producers, it all went to the dirty and inefficient corn ethanol, instead of the cleaner, more efficient sugar cane ethanol. 2) Americans don't give a shit. Nowadays, you can buy a 12-pack of snack cakes or soda for less than a pepper, and because a lot of us are raised in a way that desserts and sugary foods were rationed for the sake of our health, and they're now cheaper than ever (thanks to corn syrup), we're all as fat as our wallets. It's fairly plain to see that American obesity can be directly linked to HFCS. It's the reason why fatty foods are cheap, which creates the dilemma of getting more than what you pay in the short term, but creating problems later on (obesity leading to disease and disability, etc.). I'd like to see something that can edge out HFCS that's healthier and provides more of an incentive to grow, but as long as I can buy a pack of Oreos for the same price as a pineapple, I'm not holding my breath. Kay, there's a solution to this. Are you ready? Beans. It's like my dad says time and time again, "You could live off beans." There great for you, full of nutrients and all that, not processed, but best of all, CHEAP. You can get like a POUND of beans for a QUARTER. Nothing is worth a quarter anymore! So I guess what I'm trying to say is: Don't eat anything that isn't beans ever.

Peanuts, too. They're cheap to farm and produce, and very high in the nutrients they have. The problem is that they're cheap. It's easier to make money off of corn, because they don't have to exported out/imported in. Plus, considering that running into an American who only drinks soda because they "hate the taste of water" is incredibly common, I don't see a huge amount of Americans willing to cook and eat a vegetable (however simple it may be) and just go to McDonald's and just gorge themselves for a few bucks.