I can think of a few times in my life when I have had a sudden and permanent attitude-altering experience. In this case, the source of the alteration was very simple, I watched the documentary film King Corn, a story about the role of corn in the U.S. One image in the film especially caught my eye. It was the corn fed cattle. I am talking about the bulked up, hefty, cattle that go into hamburgers. As I listened to the film, my mind wandered fleetingly to see all the bulked up people in the U.S. -- you can see them everywhere. I would not embarass them or me by telling them so directly, but some of these people look bulked up just like the cows. As pointed out in the film, all of us depend heavily on corn for calories, both directly eating corn products and also eating corn-fed livestock and their products. Getting too bulked up has become an obesity problem accounting for an epidemic of deteriorating health for those of all ages. I realized that I too could be bulking up, because of my own intake of corn -- especially when I looked in the mirror, and no, I am not anorexic.
The reliance on corn in U.S. diets was a brilliant initiative that began in the 1970s with Earl Butz, the Secretary of Agriculture under President Nixon. The emphasis on corn was in many respects a very good thing, because it led to an abundance of calories at low cost. The problem today is that corn has become a ubiquitous part of the food chain for the food on our tables, and is not infrequently present in quantities that reduce the nutritional quality of our diet.
Take a look at how many grocery store items contain high fructose corn syrup. When I go to the grocery store these days, I try to find products without high fructose corn syrup. There are not many on the shelves without these sweeteners. For good measure, I cast aside also the products that contain sugar, or cane syrup or other processed sugars. I also exclude milk products which may come from corn-fed animals. I have worked hard to find a nutritional, enjoyable and satisfying combination of foods without the corn and other sweeteners. Leaving aside the sweeteners was difficult for a person that grew up enjoying sweets with gusto. But artificial sweeteners have become my friends, and keep me happy. My dietary approach is probably more drastic than necessary, but on reflection I am especially happy with the nutritional content that has resulted. And now after a couple of months, in my mind's eye at least, I look a little less like those corn-fed cattle.
For futher information about the film: