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Ah, high fructose corn syrup. How we love to hate thee. Hence why the Corn Refiners Association has shot back with their, um, vaguely offensive ads:

The folks behind Brain have astutely pointed out that the CFA could have taken any number of valid approaches to this campaign, such as focusing on how HFCS has kept food prices low or how it benefits American farmers—arguments with holes, for sure, but at least less offensive and somewhat substantive. Instead, they chose to depict those of us who question the prevalence of the sweetener as social pariahs who make their friends and loved ones uncomfortable by rudely assuming ignorance.

Now, Curt Ellis (of King Corn fame) has responded to the campaign, liking it to tobacco ads of yore. Behold the King Corn version:

Ellis’ critique hinges around the fact that, yes, HFCS is probably safe in moderation, but most Americans don’t actually intake it that way. In fact, the New York Times’ Well blog reported in October on three new studies about HFCS, including one that found that drinking two sodas a day raises your risk of kidney damage by 40%. If “moderation” is considered less than two sodas a day, then I know far too many people who may want to schedule an appointment with an nephrologist.

But the Well blog reminds us too, by way of this Washington Post article, that the effects of HFCS reach beyond public health. Growing corn the way we do—as a monoculture—depletes the soil of nutrients, requiring more pesticides and fertilizers that create damaging runoff.

I don’t need to get all Michael Pollan on you, and I won’t. I couldn’t possibly say it better than he does anyway. Point is that there are many, many issues with HFCS (including, get this, that it may make people fatter faster than other types of sugars do) and a poorly thought-out ad campaign sure as hell isn’t going to make me stop preaching about them.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 at 5:32 am and is filed under Advertising, Communications, Media, Sustainability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.