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Don't forget farm subsidies dumping cheap corn syrup into the bellies of our entire populace. Health care in the USA must deal with the reality of our obese and

Don't forget farm subsidies dumping cheap corn syrup into the bellies of our entire populace. Health care in the USA must deal with the reality of our obese and overweight masses (no pun intended). Mental health in this country is similarly crippled by rapid societal changes, but that would take longer to explain in detail.

cma 10y ago
I thought subsidies for corn-based ethanol and tariffs on sugar (lowering sweetener supply) made corn syrup more expensive.
- ihaveajob 10y ago
  Subsidies for corn have been in place, depressing prices (relative to high-tariff sugar) long enough, that food manufacturers have incorporated corn products into almost everything you can buy at the supermarket. Once the supply chain is in place, even if corn prices rise marginally, it's going to take a large effort to eliminate it from the typical American diet.
- will_pseudonym 10y ago
  * Tariffs on sugar increase demand for corn. * Subsidies for ethanol increases the cost of all food, including corn. * Subsidies for corn for lots of other things[0][1] decrease the direct price of corn to consumers and food manufacturers. As a single data point, I come from Kansas, from a family of farmers. It used to be known as the "Breadbasket of America" because of all the wheat that they grew. Its number one crop is now corn[2]. [0] https://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php?fips=00000&progcode=corn https://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php?fips=00000&progcode=corn [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_subsidy#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_subsidy#United_St... [2] https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kansas/Publications/Crops/Production/2011/cropaug.pdf https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kansas/Publica...
  - cma 10y ago
    That chart shows around 7 billion for corn. The text later says: > US corn ethanol subsidies are between $5.5 billion and $7.3 billion per year. Doesn't that mean most non-ethanol uses of corn aren't really subsidized too much? It does also list: "Feed grains, mostly corn 2,841" (million) Am I right that that is just $9 subsidy per citizen, and lots of it is going to feed farm animals? The numbers are all from different years so there could have been some major changes.
kiba 10y ago
More like, there's too much sugar that people are using. It's doesn't matter if it's corn syrup or not.
- will_pseudonym 10y ago
  Yes, but I would posit that the greatest reason that it has become such a problem is because of the subsidization that makes corn syrup so inexpensive. It's a massive negative externality that is completely unpriced.
  - dv_dt 10y ago
    In part, but there is sugar or corn syrup in so many products, especially US products, where there is really no good reason for either.
    - will_pseudonym 10y ago
      They're cheap, addictive calories. HFCS and sucrose also don't trigger our satiety responses well, so that also allows us to eat more than our body needs[0]. It's a battle over space in our stomachs, and sugars are a massive weapon in that competition. Food science is practiced by food companies not to make us healthier, but to ingest more. [0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/18065574/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/18065574/
djsumdog 10y ago
It's so difficult to eat healthy in the US because we're still in this false mindset of "reduce fat intake" when in reality is we should be reducing starches/sugars (carbs except for fibre and limited sugar alcohols). Most of the "light" and "healthy" foods in stores are LOADED with sugars or starch. The FDA really needs to revisit the weight given to carbohydrates when creating the total calorie count. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

cma 10y ago

I thought subsidies for corn-based ethanol and tariffs on sugar (lowering sweetener supply) made corn syrup more expensive.

ihaveajob 10y ago
Subsidies for corn have been in place, depressing prices (relative to high-tariff sugar) long enough, that food manufacturers have incorporated corn products into almost everything you can buy at the supermarket. Once the supply chain is in place, even if corn prices rise marginally, it's going to take a large effort to eliminate it from the typical American diet.
will_pseudonym 10y ago
* Tariffs on sugar increase demand for corn. * Subsidies for ethanol increases the cost of all food, including corn. * Subsidies for corn for lots of other things[0][1] decrease the direct price of corn to consumers and food manufacturers. As a single data point, I come from Kansas, from a family of farmers. It used to be known as the "Breadbasket of America" because of all the wheat that they grew. Its number one crop is now corn[2]. [0] https://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php?fips=00000&progcode=corn https://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php?fips=00000&progcode=corn [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_subsidy#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_subsidy#United_St... [2] https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kansas/Publications/Crops/Production/2011/cropaug.pdf https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kansas/Publica...
- cma 10y ago
  That chart shows around 7 billion for corn. The text later says: > US corn ethanol subsidies are between $5.5 billion and $7.3 billion per year. Doesn't that mean most non-ethanol uses of corn aren't really subsidized too much? It does also list: "Feed grains, mostly corn 2,841" (million) Am I right that that is just $9 subsidy per citizen, and lots of it is going to feed farm animals? The numbers are all from different years so there could have been some major changes.

kiba 10y ago

More like, there's too much sugar that people are using. It's doesn't matter if it's corn syrup or not.

will_pseudonym 10y ago
Yes, but I would posit that the greatest reason that it has become such a problem is because of the subsidization that makes corn syrup so inexpensive. It's a massive negative externality that is completely unpriced.
- dv_dt 10y ago
  In part, but there is sugar or corn syrup in so many products, especially US products, where there is really no good reason for either.
  - will_pseudonym 10y ago
    They're cheap, addictive calories. HFCS and sucrose also don't trigger our satiety responses well, so that also allows us to eat more than our body needs[0]. It's a battle over space in our stomachs, and sugars are a massive weapon in that competition. Food science is practiced by food companies not to make us healthier, but to ingest more. [0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/18065574/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/18065574/

djsumdog 10y ago

It's so difficult to eat healthy in the US because we're still in this false mindset of "reduce fat intake" when in reality is we should be reducing starches/sugars (carbs except for fibre and limited sugar alcohols). Most of the "light" and "healthy" foods in stores are LOADED with sugars or starch. The FDA really needs to revisit the weight given to carbohydrates when creating the total calorie count. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM