Corn Subsidies

Almost everything Americans eat contains corn. Eating and growing corn are not bad in and of themselves, but producing too much corn has negative effects. High fructose corn syrup, corn fed meat, and corn based processed food are without a doubt always included in American’s modern diet. But of course, the most common use of corn is to make HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), a sweetener made by changing the sugar in corn to fructose. Since the price of HFCS is low, it is used in almost everything we eat and drink which is causing the over consumption of sugar and therefore causing American’s health to be affected. The problem is that the government knows how unhealthy this is for us and is still subsidizing high-fructose corn syrup at a time when rates of obesity and diabetes among Americans are very high.

United States subsidies have been the direction of food consumption patterns among Americans. According to Michael Pollan, “most researches trace America’s rising rates of obesity to the 1970’s” which was when high fructose corn syrup started being primarily used in the United States (“The consumer: A republic of fat,” 102-103). Around the same time, the U.S government began imposing tariffs on imported sugar and put into effect sugar quotas on the amount of domestic sugar that could be grown. As a result, producers were able to obtain this new corn sweetener known as HFCS much cheaper than sugar and they began to use it to sweeten food products. This is why the reason American’s heartland is now covered with endless swaths of corn because since government subsidies have kept corn prices low, farmers need to plant much more corn to make money. Therefore, corn-based ingredients such as HFCS are in a great majority of processed food products. (Conceived US corn subsidies make "liquid Satan" high-fructose corn syrup a cheap ingredient by E. Huff).

Over the years, HFCS has become very popular in American’s diet because as mentioned before it’s cheaper than sugar, easy to transport and keeps food in good condition for a longer period of time. Since HFCS became a substitution for sugar, we can find it in almost everything we eat and drink daily such as ketchup, mayonnaise, cookies, cereal, chocolate, soda, yogurt and even our bread, just to name a few. If you start reading the labels at the supermarket, you'll be surprised at how often high fructose corn syrup appears as an ingredient. In other words, since HFCS is cheap, our food products are mostly made with cheap ingredients and therefore, these products will be extremely cheap as well. As a result, people are more likely to buy and eat more of these products since it’s affordable. However, people who consume HFCS are not able to distinguish when they are full, leading to overeating and therefore, causing diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

In 1983, the U.S food and Drug Administration (FDA) listed that HFCS is “safe for use in food” and reaffirmed that decision in 1996. Their argument is that since sugar is composed of 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose, and HFCS is composed of either 42 percent or 55 percent fructose, with the remaining sugars being primarily glucose and higher sugars, there isn’t a difference between these two sweeteners and therefore it’s not dangerous for people’s health. However, according to his article “Does high-fructose corn syrup make you fatter?” John Timmer explains how a recent study made by Princeton University has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain. Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same. So although the FDA had claimed that high fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, the results of this research makes it clear that this claim is completely false.

In a study made by the American Society for Clinical Nutrition they analyzed food consumption patterns by using US Department of Agriculture food consumption tables from 1967 to 2000. As a result, they found out that the increased use of HFCS in the United States also reflects the rapid increase in obesity. The study shows that the consumption of HFCS increased more than 1000% between 1970 and 1990. Also, that HFCS now represents more 40% of caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages and is the sole caloric sweetener in soft drinks in the United States. Although the government is aware of this situation, it’s very amusing how they are now trying to tax us on sweetened beverages including soda for what Governor David Paterson says will help fight against obesity and diabetes. Meanwhile, they are still encouraging such diseases by subsidizing corn and allowing it to be one essential ingredient of almost all our food products.

Michael Pollan mentions that “when food is abundant and cheap, people will eat more of it and get fat” which is obviously what happened in the U.S since HFCS was invented The Consumer: A Republic of Fat. 102). Three of every five Americans are overweight and one of every five is obese. Although diseases such as obesity and diabetes were only found among adults, it now frequently affects children and it is known as Type II diabetes. This means that today’s children will turn out to be the first generation of Americans who will live shorter period of time compare to their parents (102). Although obesity has been affecting our country for many years, it is very sad to see that it is now actually affecting our children. This clearly shows that the government doesn’t care for anyone’s health, the only thing that seems to matter to them is to save money and make money.

Now the question is, why is HFCS a lot cheaper than sugar after it’s been proven that it affects our health? The answer to that is because the government simply wants it that way. According to Kate Hopkins, two ways in which the Federal Government accomplishes this is by sugar tariffs as well corn and sugar subsidies. Hopkins explains how this is all very complicated to understand and that’s why many people give up worrying about it. However, it is very important that we all inform ourselves about this situation since it is our health being risked. She says that this would not exist if it wasn’t for the complicity between the Sugar Industry, the Corn Industry and the United States Department of Agriculture. The Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is a big player in the Corn Industry. The ADM is who makes HFCS and us as consumers are who pay for it with the taxes we pay to the U.S government. The government spent $41.9 billion on corn subsides from 1995 to 2004; this money of course was given to the ADM. The ADM buys 12 percent of the nation’s corn at a subsidized price from farmers and turns it into HFCS. And of course, we can’t forget about sugar tariffs which are put in place by the law and enforced by the USDA. First, the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation lends money each year to sugar cane processors but the loans must be repaid with interest after nine months. The processors use this money to operate their factories and to pay sugar growers for the cane that they deliver to the mills. However, the sugar processing companies are allowed to forfeit their sugar instead of repaying the loan. The government then manipulates the market to keep prices higher than the price at which the sugar companies would forfeit their product. If not, the government will be losing the money they lent and still have sugar to distribute. In order to manipulate the market, the USDA first estimates how much sugar Americans will consume throughout the year and how much sugar U.S growers will send to market to meet consumers’ demands. Then, the USDA establishes a quota for foreign countries such as Brazil, Dominican Republic, Philippines and Australia causing just enough sugar in to the country so that it won’t affect the already high prices (Tariffs and Subsidies - The Literal Cost of High Fructose Corn Syrup). In other words, the U.S government inflates the cost of sugar and lowers the cost of corn. Then, the ADM buys an exaggerated amount of corn at a very low cost in order to make HFCS. So if the USDA and corn as well as sugar industries would not work together, it is certain that the tariffs and subsidies most likely will go away.

In conclusion, it is obvious that the government subsidies and therefore, the overproduction of corn led to a fatal change in what Americans eat. Although they say to be so concerned for our health and try to make us fight against obesity by inventing taxes, the government is only contradicting itself by strengthening the chances of these diseases to grow from the start. Without subsidies the rate of obesity and diabetes will be a lot lower obviously because better food would lead to better health.


Work Cited

• Chevat, Richie, and Michael Pollan. “The consumer: A Republic of Fat.” The Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. New York: Dial, 2009. 100-108. Print.
• Bray, George A., Samara J. Nielsen, and Barry M. Popkin. "Consumption of High-fructose Corn Syrup in Beverages May Play a Role in the Epidemic of Obesity -- Bray Et Al. 79 (4): 537." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Apr. 2004. Web. June 2010. .

• Timmer, John. "Does High-fructose Corn Syrup Make You Fatter?" Ars Technica. Apr. 2010. Web. June 2010. .

• Huff, E. "Ill-conceived US Corn Subsidies Make "liquid Satan" High-fructose Corn Syrup a Cheap Ingredient." Independent News on Natural Health, Nutrition and More. 28 Nov. 2009. Web. June 2010. .

• Hopkins, Kate. "Tariffs and Subsidies - The Literal Cost of High Fructose Corn Syrup." Accidental Hedonist. 24 Jan. 2006. Web. June 2010. .