How do you like your corn?

Sometimes I get asked if high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is actually really that bad for you, especially in light of the huge advertising campaign that has been underway for several months touting the “naturalness” of HFCS. It’s made from corn after all.

When I get asked if any food is nutritious, I ask myself a few questions. Has the food been used by traditional cultures? Would my great grandparents recognize it as food? Can I imagine it growing and prepare it at home? If the answers to these questions are no, I am skeptical.

From a biochemical perspective, we do know that fructose does not require insulin to enter our cells like glucose does. With decreased insulin release, lower amounts of leptin are circulated. Leptin is the hormone that lets us know we are full. Therefore, HFCS messes with our hunger and satiety cues and may actually contribute to overeating.

Further, from an agricultural perspective, HFCS is made from genetically engineered commodity corn that requires high amounts of fossil fuel input in the form of fertilizers, to run tractors and other farm equipment and for the transportation and processing of the corn. The entire system pollutes the air and water, depletes the soil, contributes to climate change and favors industrial agriculture corporations that force small farmers off their land. Can something be good for our individual health, if its entire existence is unsustainable and out of balance with nature? I argue no.

Yet, HFCS is in many, if not most, of the processed foods found in your average supermarket. It’s in everything because it is cheap, and it’s cheap because of huge government subsidies that keep the current system in place. Our American culture craves sweetness and the food companies know this. Fructose is sweeter than sucrose and by putting it in processed foods; it ensures that we keep coming back for more.

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Over the weekend, I visited the Davis Farmers Market, one of my favorites, with my good friend and fellow plant-lover, Jessie. Smack dab in California’s Central Valley, this market houses some of the best produce in the country. After a stone fruit tasting, we picked out the sweetest plums and white nectarines and devoured them while perusing the other market booths. We biked home with bags of fresh figs, carrots, spring onions, mushrooms and greens. The highlight of the trip, and the subsequent dinner plate, was the fresh, organic corn. This corn was so fresh that it barely needed to be cooked. Every bite of our dinner burst in my mouth as if I could actually taste the California sunshine. I was reminded of the natural sweetness that the earth provides. No HFCS required.