Corn syrup

Corn is the natural product that starts the base of nearly 80% of the food products that we consume on a regular basis. Farmers must overproduce in order to make up the financial losses that occur in the process of selling the corn to the distributors. Farmers get caught in this continuous cycle referred to as the Naylor Curve. The Naylor Curve described by Michael Pollan provides explanation behind why processed sweetener has overtaken the food industry. High fructose corn syrup is the…

King Corn is an eye-opening documentary that highlights the huge role that corn plays in American society. The film was produced in 2007 by college friends Aaron Woolf, Ian Cheney, and Curtis Ellis, who together moved from their familiar urban city to an Iowa farm. The film follows Cheney and Ellis as they rent a one-acre plot of farmland and plant their own crop of field corn. The documentary serves to demonstrate the American food industry’s reliance on corn and how corn has come to be in…

“How Corn Conquered America” I. The main idea of the “introduction” is: corn is the cornerstone of many American’s diet, managing to become the most widely planted crop in America. One fact or example that supports the main idea is about 40 percent of Mexicans calories come directly from corn, mostly in the form of tortillas. Yet Americans have more corn in their diet diet than Mexicans. Another fact or example that supports the main point is that there are some 45,000 items in the average…

years. The ingredients used in most of the foods people are consuming are artificial. These lab-created ingredients take major tolls on our bodies. Many questions have been raised about the effects of some ingredients more than others. High Fructose Corn Syrup(HFCS) is one of the more questionable ingredients in most people’s diets. Many health issues have been linked to HFCS. It is mainly used in the sugary, delicious beverages such as sodas. Although people have the right to choose what they…

The obesity rates in America has increased over the past 20 years and studies have found that drinking large amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages affects, children especially, the risk of obesity. HFCS is a “high-fructose” corn syrup and sucrose is table sugar which came from sugar beets, they also contain nearly equal proportion of smaller glucose and fructose sugars. Both HFCS and sucrose differs in the amount of fructose that is contained in each, but are almost equally in being chemically…

Candy Waterfall: Can Solids Flow Like Liquids? Introduction Does the shape and size of candy affect how it flows? What do candy, sand, and cereal have in common? They are both granular materials. Engineers need to know exactly how fast materials flow down a funnel so they can get the right amount in each box. Imagine if you had a box of candy and you opened it and it is only halfway full, wouldn’t you be mad? That is why factories and engineers need to work together to find out how fast…

frightening to me that I am a corn person, not by choice but chance. Genetically, I wasn’t supposed to eat corn as a fundamental part of my everyday diet. Yet, I have been born in an era where every item I have eaten or intend to eat is pretty much derived from corn. Unless I choose to eat free-range chickens, grass fed beef, pretty much grow my own vegetables and bake my own goods, I am a corn person (we are “corn chips walking” as Pollen puts it) comprised of processed corn products. It’s…

What do salad dressing, white vinegar, cake mix, and diapers all have in common? They all are products made with corn. Corn and the production of it were the main focus of a class by Professor Joe Braunworth at Grossmont College this week. This product that has infiltrated our shelves had created an illusion of diversity among products. Corn slowly but surely has taken over the agricultural arena. “What factors did you consider when deciding what to eat for lunch?” Professor Braunworth posed…

In The Consumer A Republic of Fat, Michael Pollan talks about how today’s addiction to corn syrup is comparable to the national drinking binge of the nineteenth century. Despite the fact he did not connect the two topics as well as he could have, Pollan did a great job of expressing his opinions and giving a factual and emotional appeal to his audience. He gave an emotional appeal by using present day problems that affect Americans, and a factual appeal by using real events that have happened.…

Corn is fundamental to many diets it is used in the morning and is the first thing that many people eat in the form of cereal. Corn can be seen as engrained in certain activities and events such as BBQs, where it is consumed on the cob and when going to the movie theatre through popcorn which is another form of corn that expands from the kernel as pressure builds it puffs up when heated. It is also part of cultural foods, Mexican food is majorly made of corn that are used in various ways such as…