Have you seen those new commercials from the Corn Refiners Association? The ones that make you feel guilty for trying not to eat high fructose corn syrup? The first time I saw one I almost thought it was a joke - really? They're trying to make us feel like judgemental jerks for not eating HFCS? But then after a couple more viewings (which is not hard, they are on like every five minutes) the gullible part of me started to feel guilty. Luckily, I read this today.
Lest you think I have broken into the narrow-minded side of everything San-Francisco-hippie, let me just say this. If you eat HFCS I will not judge you. I hope this is true for most of us folks who have made the personal decision to try and cut it out of their diets completely, or at least reduce their consumption of it as much as possible. But honestly, when the craving for a Twinkie hits, nothing will stop me. And the damn stuff really is everywhere. If you choose to buy the $2 loaf of bread on sale that has HFCS over the $5 organic froufy loaf without, that is totally awesome by me. What bothers me about those commercials is that they really try to make you think that HFCS is exactly the same as sugar (which I'm not saying you should be rolling around in either, but still) with a few general facts about its taste and nutritional "value" - same amount of calories per gram, comes from natural sources, fine in "moderation"...it's like arguing that poison oak is just as safe as ivy because they are both leafy and grow on the ground. And the issues with HFCS are not merely nutritional...
Also, the people in the commercials who avoid HFCS are portrayed as lemmings who don't know anything about the issue...I think you'll find that because HFCS is so prevalent in our diets, people who have chosen to avoid it have actually read up on the subject, or at the very least, can give several good reasons as to why they made that choice.
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