Peter Baroud
Professor Sharpless
Environmental Studies Final Paper
King Sugar
The state of Iowa currently grows enough corn to feed the entire population of the United
States. Except, the problem is: almost all of the corn grown in Iowa are unfit for human
consumption, (arguably even unfit for animal consumption, although, when grinded down much
of the corn is used as a grain for animal feed, which in turn finds its way back into the human
consumption cycle in the form of hamburgers, hotdogs, ham, chicken burgers and all kinds of
other meats which come from cows, chickens, and pigs). The corn crops are mainly grown as
raw resources, so in order for the corn to be edible, drinkable (converted into High Fructose Corn
Syrup), or even useable (ethanol, toothpaste, textiles, paper or other materials), the corn must
first be processed. Products derived from corn are in almost everything one consumes during the
present day, and they come in the form of jarred, bottled, boxed and canned foods, and includes
but are not exclusive to: juices, cookies, soda, salad dressing, potato chips, ketchup, mayonnaise,
mustard, chewing gum, and baby food.
In the film documentary King Corn filmmakers Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney visit a
University of Virginia lab and find out that the carbon isotopes in their hair suggest that Ian and
Curt are basically made out of corn. Confused, puzzled and disturbed by this finding, the two
filmmakers travel from Boston to Iowa and rent an acre of farm land to grow corn on, and
throughout the process learn about where the corn comes from, where the corn goes, the
environmental and agricultural impacts of growing this corn in such massive quantities, as well
as what the farmers' roles are.
Doctor Richard J. Johnson and Timothy Gower, authors of The Sugar Fix: The High
Fructose Fallout That Is Making You Fat and Sick are arguing about the health hazards of one of
the liquid-form products derived from Iowa corn farms: High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). In
their book, the authors argue that HFCS can be a harmful and unhealthy source of fructose when
taken in constant and large quantities, which seems to be unavoidable due to their widespread
availability and assimilation into almost every major product in small and large grocery stores
alike. Evidence is presented which ties the consumption of HFCS to: obesity, diabetes, insulin
resistance, kidney disease, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other negative health effects.
The authors then provide alternative low-fructose diets which are found to be healthier and a way
to curb as well as reduce fructose consumption.
There are many parallels and statistical information which both the book and
documentary share. For instance, both sources find that the rise in obesity in the United States of
America is directly correlated to the increased consumption of HFCS in the average American's
diet. The documentary traces this trend back to the 1970's when Earl Butz (who was Secretary of
Agriculture and also headed the USDA) during the Nixon and Ford administrations began to
heavily subsidize and support corn farming and urge farmers to plant commodity crops such as
corn in numbers which have been unprecedented in world history, much to the expense of the
local small family farmer, and gain of agribusiness corporations. According to the article by
Children of the Corn Syrup by Shea Dean, Dean states: "Butz had helped to lock in the growth
spiral by linking government subsidies to yield rather than to acreage. Large farms could turn a
profit by buying chemicals in bulk and cutting labor costs to the bone, but small farmers could
only cut away so much, and Butz knew it. His advice to them was 'Get big or get out.'"1 Butz is
actually interviewed by Curt and Ian in the documentary and still seems to affirm and rejoice in
his role which affected the American agriculture and food system so significantly. Butz recalled
how he himself had grown up on a farm, and during his youth, the system of agriculture led the
government to pay farmers to not over-produce. Butz then states how when he became Secretary
General his goal was to get America to spend less money on food, which is currently the United
States' "Best kept secret. We feed ourselves with 16-17% of our take him pay. It's marvelous."
Similar to Curt and Ian, Johnson and Gower also found that there were dramatic shifts in
the American population since the 1970's, and that change came in the form of weight gain and
poor health. "In 1975... the obesity rate in the United States reached 15 percent" and that "in a
period of just 30 years, the obesity rate more than doubled." (4) According to Johnson and
Gower, 32 percent of Americans today are obese, and an additional one-third of Americans are
overweight, meaning they aren't exactly fit for the "obese" category but still have an unhealthy
amount of body fat. With some basic math skills, this leads one to the conclusion that: two-thirds
of Americans are either overweight or obese. (4)
The authors go on to say that "Americans consume 30 percent more fructose today than
in 1970. Our rising consumption of this sugar began at roughly the same time that obesity rates
in the United States were climbing sharply." (5) When compared to a 1890 survey of 5,000 white
males in their fifties which found that only 3.4 percent of whom were obese, the current statistics
are much higher. Of course, during the late nineteenth century, only wealthy families could
afford to overindulge in their dietary choices, and both King Corn and The Sugar Fix point to
how currently, the issue of obesity isn't so much a product of socioeconomic disposition
anymore. "Obesity rates are rising in countries across the globe... Thanks to advances in farming,
manufacturing, and shipping, delicious high-calorie foods are cheap and widely available."
(Johnson & Gower 5) So what about these so-called advances?
Indeed, Curt and Ian have the same finding as well when they interview and consult
Michael Pollan in the movie who gives a brief history of how this advance has come about:
"What you're growing is industrialized corn. It has been changed over the last 20,30
40,50 years with one goal in mind, which is: yield. The way it was done was not to make every
plant produce more, so much, as to make the plants tolerate living close together. This plant is
kind of an urban creature, it lives in these cities of corn. We're now up to close to 200 bushels of
corn per acre. That's, what, 10,000 pounds? Five tons of food from one acre of land. That's an
amazing amount of food!"
Just to put that into perspective, according to a Iowa State University Animal Industry
Report in 2009, where the objective of the study was to estimate the amount of corn fed to
livestock in Iowa, the findings were that the livestock consumed an estimated total amount of
607 million bushels of corn. According to Iowa Agricultural Statistics the total bushels of corn
produced in Iowa in 2006 was 2 billion bushels.5,6 Therefore, Iowa livestock consumed about
30% of the 2006 corn crop.3 With these calculations in mind, the remaining 70% of the Iowa
crop which was not fed to livestock was exported out of the state, to be processed into "ethanol,
corn sweetener, or other products such as pet food or other miscellaneous uses." 3 With these
statistics clarifying the amount of corn mass produced cheaply only to be recycled back in the
human food system, one should be able to begin to see how this is becoming problematic to our
health and environment.
Using the same method as the University of Virginia which sampled Ian and Curt's hair
and found that their carbon makeup is mostly made out of corn, a Scientific American article
called "That Burger You're Eating Is Mostly Corn" discusses how carbon in the bulk of the meat
(93%) found to be used at fast food chains such as McDonalds, Burger King, or Wendy's can be
traced back to corn.4 But it's not just the corn-fed meat that is made mostly out of corn. Chicken
sandwiches also have a high percentage of corn due to the corn-fed chickens, and the tasty
French fries? Well, they were fried in corn oil.4 In King Corn Michael Pollan again has
something to say about this issue which directly parallels the Scientific American article: "If you
take that meal, if you take that McDonalds meal, you don't realize it when you eat it, but you're
eating corn. Beef has been corn fed, the soda is corn - it's all HFCS that is the main ingredient,
even the French fries, where half the calories from the French fries come from the fat that they're
fried in, and that fat is liable to be corn oil or soy oil. And so, when you're at that McDonalds,
you're eating Iowa food. Everything on your plate is corn."
One might have the same rationale and opinion as Earl Butz and say: "Well, so what if
corn is in all these things? What's the big deal? If it's cheaply produced and cheaply sold, and is
feeding the nation, then great. Where's the problem?"
The way Johnson and Gower would answer this question is by saying that as Homo
sapiens who have been on Earth anywhere between 130,000 to 195,000 years, our genetic
makeup has been consistent for all this time, but our diets have not. Therefore, this dramatic rise
in sugar intake is not tolerable by our bodies as they are designed to run efficiently on only small
doses of fructose (26). Johnson and Gower use the indigenous tribe of the Maori people as an
example. Between AD 800 and AD 1300, the tribe settled in New Zealand, where for centuries
to come their diets consisted largely of fish, taro, sweet potato, and fern root. Then by the 19th
century when European settlers arrived in New Zealand, and intermarriage between Europeans
the Maoris became common, many Maori people adopted Western style diets, with the common
denominator of these foods outside of their culinary heritage predominately being sugar. "Within
a short period, the Maori became some of the most obese people in the world. The prevalence of
diabetes and hypertension, once virtually nonexistent in this population, soared. Today, about
one in four Maori adults has diabetes." (27) where the Maori male population have some of the
highest rates of cardiovascular disease in the world. (28)
Johnson and Gower would go on to point out the same trend correlation with the United
States, as demonstrated in this chart:
(pg. 30)
The chart itself tracks the obesity to sugar growth rate since the 1700's, but also notes that
"reliable information on body size dates back only to the late 19th century". (29) But even with
that acknowledgment, the rates of sugar consumption over the past century have been enormous,
and statistics from the USDA confirm this.
In this graph by Stephen Haley and Nydia Suarez, research conducted in July 2004 by the
USDA shows that in 1970, the per capita caloric consumption of the HFCS sweetener 0.5
pounds. By 2003, the per capita consumption skyrocketed to 60.9 pounds. (Highlited)
Source: (http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/ers/SSS-yearbook/2000s/2004/SSS-yearbook-08-31-2004.pdf)
What this means is that as of 2004, the average individual consumes 60.9 pounds of High
Fructose Corn Syrup per year.
The production of this much corn to sustain the demand for corn based products surely
has some detrimental effects on our environment. The film documentary Blue Gold: World
Water Wars by director Sam Bozzo talks about how our water supply is very rapidly depleting,
mainly due to unsustainable agricultural practices promoted by irresponsible laws which do not
preserve our fresh water resources, but rather encourage the depletion thereof.
The farming community uses fresh water aquifers as a source of watering their farms, and
the way that the law encourages an unsustainable method of water use is by allowing farmers to
use limitless quantities of water. In addition to having supreme control over the water supplies,
the law adds in an even more irresponsible measure by saying that if farmers do not use all the
water, they way lose their water rights. So a farmer who may want to quit pumping water to
preserve the aquifer supply, has lost all incentive to do so, for fear of losing his or her water
rights. 7
When water is pumped from these aquifers, a lot of water goes into the farm ground soil
and finds its way back into the aquifers, this is known as "recharge". So theoretically, as long as
water is being pumped at a constant and consistent rate as the recharge, the water is being used
sustainably. However, when a carte blanche is given to farmers by government to pump as much
water as they can, and punishment sentenced to those who do not constantly pump water, this
leads to the aquifer being depleted at a faster rate under which it could be "recharged",
permanently draining the aquifer of its resource. One of the main problems here is that water is
currently being pumped fifteen times faster than the rate of recharge, leading to the gradual
desertification of the world. 7
What about the animals? So far, environmental issues have been discussed, and so have
human health issues, and although all of these issues are interrelated, what is often forgotten is
the mistreatment and methods of quarantining animals in crowded, small areas, and are being
raised simply to be butchered. The documentary King Corn also does a great job of showing how
cows and calves have gone from grazing on grass in open fields, to small and confined feed lots.
The reason for this change is because raising cattle on grass takes several years for the cows to
grow to market weight, whereas confining cows to smaller spaces results in less movement.
From there, feeding (or rather force-feeding) the sedentary cows becomes a simple process of
dumping excess amounts of corn grain into the feeds and watching them get fat and processed
into the market and food chain very quickly.
However, cattle, much like humans, are not really "designed" to be on a corn-fed diet for
such a long period of time. Ian and Curt interview Allen Trenkle of Iowa State University, who
has been studying the effects of feeding corn to cattle by developing a way of looking into their
stomachs during digestion. Allen found that during the early 20th century, cows were mainly fed
grass and/or hay when they were out grazing, and would receive little to no grain at all. Allen
contrasts that with how we currently give cows rations which contain almost 90 percent grain,
but cows evolved to not feed on high-starch content such as corn. Yet, now that corn is being fed
to cows, acidic levels have been rising dramatically, which result in a condition called "acidosis",
which if not treated, the animal dies. To combat acidosis, the cows are put on antibiotics, which
also subsequently helps them deal with their confinement. Livestock currently consume 70
percent of the antibiotics in the United States.
The feed lot facility which Ian and Curt were on has over 100,000 cattle, who produce as
much waste as a city of 1.7 million people. Which perfectly seaways into how our environment
is being significantly harmed by cow burps and waste.
In the article "Cow Farts, Burps and Global Warming: No Laughing Matter.", a statistic
is given that "About 98 per cent of the methane from a cow is emitted through its mouth" and
that "the average grain-fed dairy cow belches out about 500 liters of methane each day,
compared to about 600-700 liters a day per grass-fed cow". What this statistic says is that
livestock expels 37% of the methane gas in the world. Methane, a gas twenty times more
powerful than carbon dioxide, is contributing significantly to the global warming crisis. But what
this statistic also brings to question, is whether or not feeding cows grass is more
environmentally sustainable, as well as whether using cows as a food source is environmentally
sustainable at all. So what are the solutions? How can this be remedied?
For one thing, the second law of thermodynamics states that energy in a system dissipates
and ends up resulting into entropy. So in the case of corn: heat from the sun as a form of energy
allows plants and other life to grow, so when animals eat those plants, and humans eat those
animals, much more energy is being used than if human beings were to directly consume plants.
This would lead one into taking on a vegetarian diet or certainly less meat in their diet to
contribute to the sustainability of the Earth.
Johnson and Gower on the other hand have some other suggestions. The authors' main
suggestion is that a person's diet ought to be very low in fructose. "The science is clear and
powerful: cutting back on fructose will help maintain a healthy weight and control the various
conditions of metabolic syndrome such as high blood pressure and elevated blood glucose - in
turn, lowering your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and other health concerns." (96) Soft drinks,
candy, and desserts need to be significantly lessened and in some cases completely stopped. As a
matter of fact, 75 percent of the soft drinks, candy, and dessert we consume have High Fructose
Corn Syrup. (Johnson and Gower 136) The authors say that people should consume only 25 to
35 grams of fructose per day, and just to put things in perspective, an average 16 Oz soda has
26.1 grams of fructose in it. So one bottle of soda during the day, and a person has already had
their fructose budget. (24, 32, 103)
One solution to counteract many of the problems caused by HFCS, is drinking a lot of
milk. The authors make a case for milk, in which they argue that milk is the anti-fructose. Dairy
foods strengthen bones and help prevent osteoporosis in both genders. Additionally, Johnson
argues that in the 1940's, Americans drank 41 gallons of whole milk per year. In contrast, today
Americans drink 7 gallons of whole milk per year, and this decrease is attributed to the rise
HFCS of sugar-sweetened soft drinks. Another positive of drinking milk is that it keeps uric acid
under control. (Johnson and Gower 136, 144-146, 150) Uric acid not only causes gout, but also
raises the risk for weight gain, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance, and with simply
adding a serving or two of dairy products to one's daily diet, he or she are helping themselves
lower their uric acid levels. (Johnson and Gower 148, 150)
What if someone is lactose intolerant? Many supermarkets carry milk and other dairy
products which have been supplemented wit lactase, which in essence is breaking down lactose
into simple sugars: glucose and galactose. (Johnson and Gower 154) Theoretically, people who
are lactose intolerant can safely digest those sugars.
The conclusion that the authors are leaving the reader with in the final chapters are that
fructose isn't so bad as long as it is limited into very small quantities. Meat, should be consumed
no more than two to three times a week, fish must be eaten at least twice a week, and replace
high sugar drinks with more ideal dairy ones.
Works Cited:
7
Blue Gold: World Water Wars. Dir. Sam Bozzo. DVD. Netflix, 2009.
Johnson, Richard, and Timothy Gower. The Sugar Fix The High-Fructose Fallout That Is
Making You Fat and Sick. New York: Rodale Books, 2008.
King Corn. Dir. Aaron Woolf. Perf. Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis. DVD. Netflix, 2007.
1
"Children of the Corn Syrup." The Believer. 14 Dec. 2009
<http://www.believermag.com/issues/200310/?read=article_dean>.
2
"Corn." The Robinson Library. 14 Dec. 2009
<http://www.robinsonlibrary.com/agriculture/plant/field/corn.htm>.
3
"Corn Use as Livestock Feed in Iowa." Iowa State University Animal Industry Report 2009 13
Dec. 2009
<http://www.ans.iastate.edu/report/air/2009pdf/R2462.pdf>
"Corn." Oracle ThinkQuest Library. 14 Dec. 2009
<http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312380/corn.htm>.
5
"Corn." Department of Geography | Michigan State University. 14 Dec. 2009
<http://www.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/corn.html>.
"Cow Farts, Burps and Global Warming: No Laughing Matter." Price of Meat. 14 Dec. 2009
<http://priceofmeat.com/2009/03/07/cow-farts-burps-and-global-warming-no-laughing-matter/>.
"Education - A Zillions Uses for Corn!" Ontario Corn Producers' Association. 14 Dec. 2009
<http://www.ontariocorn.org/classroom/products.html>.
4
"That Burger You're Eating Is Mostly Corn: Scientific American." Science News, Articles and
Information | Scientific American. 14 Dec. 2009
<http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=that-burger-youre-eating-is-mostly-corn>.
6
"United States of Corn - A Mighty Appetite." Blog Directory (washingtonpost.com). 14 Dec.
2009
<http://voices.washingtonpost.com/mighty-appetite/2007/10/united_states_of_corn.html>.