Health experts aren't the only ones condemning the consumption of high fructose corn syrup. Environmentalists are also against this popular sweetener. Most corn crops are grown on land that is used solely for corn, which depletes the soil of nutrients. Thus, more fertilizer and pesticides are required in order to maintain the crops. According to Michael Pollan, the author of "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto", the environmental footprint of high fructose corn syrup is very prominent, especially in a place located in the Gulf of Mexico that is the size of New Jersey. He states that nothing will be able to live on this land due to its lack of oxygen from the fertilizer that comes down the Mississippi River from the corn belt. He also mentions the herbicide, atrazine, contaminating water in farm country which has been shown to turn male frogs into hermaphrodites in concentrations as small as 0.1 part per billion.
On the other hand, organic corn crops, could lower the amount of damage done to our environment. One study showed that growing corn organically produced the same yields and used 33% less fuel. So if you are trying to adopt a greener lifestyle, going organic would be a step foward.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/06/AR2008030603294.html
Some beverage companies are even planning on replacing high fructose corn syrup with natural sugar in their drinks, such as Jones soda, Snapple, and Pepsi. Although, their main motive for doing this is to make their products more appealing to the public due to all the negative remarks on HFCS that have escalated recently.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/reading-the-tea-leaves-snapple-refreshes-itself/
http://munchmonster.com/main/pepsi-introducing-pure-sugar-sodas.html
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/293972_jonessoda29.html
Also, for your entertainment, I found an anti-HFCS commercial. It's a spoof on the Corn Refiners Assocation TV ads that promote the consumption of their beloved HFCS, which I also added in case you don't know what I'm talking about.
CRA commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVsgXPt564Q&feature=PlayList&p=8BF2A018C1161E77&playnext=1&index=50
Anti-HFCS commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDNYod1OpDQ&feature=related
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Michael Pollan will be speaking at the Georgia Organics conference in a couple of weeks:
http://www.georgiaorganics.org/conference/index.php?PHPSESSID=3ab6c58f4405b30bf486363b025e2d4b
Unfortunately, we only see commercials from groups on both ends of the spectrum. It is difficult to find accurate, unbiased information.
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