I saw an ad about an hour ago, another one, where the High Fructose Corn Syrup industry is once again attempting to convince everyone that their product is safe, since there is now so much controversy about it.
Indeed, the product may be safe…in VERY small amounts.
What is not explained is that the amounts being consumed are so high by so many people, that it is indeed very poisonous, especially since it’s in so darn many of our food products.
Public perception is everything.
Gargantuan advertising campaigns are put into place, costing untold millions upon millions of dollars to help maintain specific kinds of public perception. It is with the understanding that this mere perception, is what perpetuates sales and keeps the gears churning forward.
Look at the Coke ads of the 1970’s, when I was growing up…I absolutely adored this song as a child:
And I drank a lot of Coke.
And I was a pretty miserable little boy. (Ever see the child at the restaurant drinking Coke/Pepsi and screaming?)
With such a beautiful song promoting it, how could it POSSIBLY be bad for us???
And look at the Coke ads of today, with the polar bears that everyone is familiar with…cute, cuddly, adorable animated white bears with little baby bears to add to the appeal.
The corn industry is heavily invested into corn syrups and high fructose corn syrups. It is a financial monster, considering how prevalent the ingredient is in foods.
…Such as Coke.
Used to be before the 70’s, Coke used regular sugar. It’s still made that way in Mexico.
But not here.
Sugar costs far more than HFCS does. Not only is it cheaper to use HFCS, you can even use LESS of it, due to its potency to sweeten.
Win-win on for the bottom line.
But still exposing people to too much HFCS.
Coincidentally in a sad news item today out of New Zealand, a woman’s family is claiming she was addicted to Coke…as are some form of “experts” in New Zealand…and it was this addiction that unfortunately lead to her death. Her name was Natasha Harris, you can search the story.
And no one even discusses the phosphoric acid issue, nor the effect carbonation has on blood pH levels.
I used to drink one Coke each year during the holidays, up until about five years ago, when I cut it out all together. At a time when I’m having fun and feeling good, I decided I no longer needed a temporary caffeine/sugar high, followed by the extended low, in order to accentuate the event.
No matter how pretty, polite, or fun an advertisement is in trying to convince you that something is safe, we need to use both our common sense, see the bigger picture, and take responsibility for what we’re eating…is it something that your gut tells you is a real “food,” or is it something that seems more manufactured, more processed, and perhaps has shareholders that want to be paid?