I first got turned onto how corn is infused with my life after reading Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma then subsequently In Defense of Food, (the later is now a PBS series.)
Corn is used to make high fructose corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup is in so many food products. Go to the grocery store and look at a food label and chances are there’s high fructose corn syrup or some other corn byproduct in your food.
Garlic salt, ketchup, bread – all replete will high fructose corn syrup and other corn byproducts. As you’ll see in the Twitter thread below, it doesn’t stop there.
I’m certainly not the first to acknowledge this, nor will I be the last. Read Michael Pollan’s books, watch the documentary “King Corn” on Netflix and finally check out this Twitter thread 🤯outlining how corn is deeply woven into your life:
(Please forgive me, some of these tweets are repetive as it’s hard to embed massive threads from Twitter)
You are slowly realizing it has literally been years, maybe decades, since you ate any meal made without corn.
— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 17, 2018
I absolutely guarantee you every meal you have eaten in the last 365 days has been made with corn.
— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 17, 2018
Did you eat something packaged in a paper bag?
That’s lined with corn.https://t.co/9F121RPLmq— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 17, 2018
Did you eat something with citric acid?
That’s not lemon. That’s corn.https://t.co/ccdFusl6D8 pic.twitter.com/wvO7srneFl— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 17, 2018
Did you eat something with honey in it? It’s diluted with corn syrup.
Did you eat raw honey?
Bees are fed corn syrup.https://t.co/S3xn508fNe— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
Cows eat corn, but milk isn’t made from corn, right?
Correct.Except, what is milk fortified with?
Vitamin D.How does Vitamin D get in milk?
It’s soluable in vegetable oil then mixed in.What is the vegetable oil made from?
Corn.— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
Bananas aren’t made from corn, right?
Correct.How are bananas ripened?
With ethylene gas.How is ethylene produced in the United States?
From catalytic converters using ethanol.Where does ethanol come from in the United States?
Corn.— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
Virtually all consumer vitamin capsules use active ingredients, stabilizers, or production stearates sourced from corn.
— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
Surfactants in shampoo and dishwashing liquid are often chemically processed with corn glucose. Cosmetics are often corn. (‘zea mays’ = maize)
You use corn to remove corn from your dishes.
You take a shower and clean yourself with the help of corn.
You coat yourself with corn.
— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
Animals eat corn, but meat isn’t corn, right?
Correct.How is bacteria controlled in meat cutting operations?
Increasingly, by spraying lactic acid.Where does lactic acid come from?
Fermenting glucose.Where does glucose come from?
Often, corn syrup.https://t.co/VTXqO0m8JF— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
You live in a society whose every production industry is based around a government-subsidized chemical feedstock.
Corn is not a _food_.
Corn is a _platform_.— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
More commentary on how rich corn is for weaving a narrative of the American century: https://t.co/QmbQtmkNTv
— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
Taber thread from her perspective on corn: https://t.co/ahJBp4tcCt
— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
If you want to know more about the spread of corn than you ever wanted to, I recommend @CornAllergyGirl. She has to basically custom-make a lot of her own food and stockpile it. But it’s not just food.https://t.co/9w6fkxbh6f
— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
3D printing? One of two material options is PLA plastic, made from corn.
Tattoos? Ink liquid base is probably corn.
Frozen fish? Often glazed in a mixture of corn starch/corn syrup to prevent dehydration and oxidation, which polyunsaturated fats in fish are vulnerable to.
— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
It doesn't matter if your fish is fresh from Alaska, it's getting processed and dipped in corn from the American midwest.
— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
Ranch dressing? Does that have corn in it?
dextrose (corn)
— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
Why does USA use corn syrup instead of sugar?
It's by design."import quota for sugar that limits imports to keep the price as high as possible for American consumers"
"US consumers and producers pay approximately three times the world price of sugar"https://t.co/eStYIGdXML— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 18, 2018
Want to keep reading about food, check out these food article topics next:
- The Delay Diet
- 5 Paradigm Shifting Health Articles You May Have Missed
- Potatoes (apparently) Caused My Eczema – (A personal food experience)