High Fructose Corn Syrup: That Sweet, Sweet Bully

Quick! What is wrong with nuclear power??! How about DDT??! Or vinyl off-gassing??! Well, your inability to respond quickly, succinctly and in a rapid-fire sound bite has just destroyed your credibility and rendered you ignorant and labeled you as a lefty-liberal whiner. Sorry, you lose!

This is the intended message of a crop of pro-HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup) advertisements paid for by the Corn Refiners Association and created to shame the public into quiet subservience and passive consumption of the countless high-fructose corn syrup-laden products that dominate the supermarket. The two commercials are basically the same in theme and concept and consist of aggressively obnoxious people being admonished in their uninformed condemnation of high-fructose corn syrup, by individuals that seem a lot more appealing and conversant.

The first commercial is the more insidious of the bunch, consisting of two mothers at, what looks like, a child’s birthday party. Mom One spots Mom Two pouring out glasses of punch from what looks like a jug of anti-freeze and arrogantly chides “Wow, you don’t care what the kids eat, huh?” To which Mom Two politely asks her to substantiate her condemnation of high-fructose corn syrup, and of course, Mom One can’t deliver or recall exactly why high-fructose corn syrup is so bad for you, thus rendering her a red-faced dope. Mom Two negates Mom One’s befuddlement with the statement that high-fructose corn syrup is “made from corn, doesn’t have artificial ingredients and is fine in moderation.” (Note: antagonist Mom One is white, and protagonist Mom Two is black–is there a racial subtext here?

The second commercial is less relevant to parents, but is no less insidious, in that it equates love with feeding your partner high-fructose corn syrup, as in, “I feed you high-fructose corn syrup because I love you.” The basic structure is the same, this time with a couple on a picnic as the woman assumes the role of high-fructose corn syrup booster in opposition to her callow boyfriend. The end result being that he looks like an idiot, and she looks sweet and sensible. All of which is summed up by a congenial voice over reminding you to, “Get the facts, you are in for a sweet surprise.”

The cynical conceit of these ads are that if you can’t recall at a moment’s notice, all, or any, of the reasons something is negative or undesirable, then your concerns are wholly irrelevant, and you should just shut your mouth, and only open it to receive a generous serving of high-fructose corn syrup. The logic behind these ads assert that because high-fructose corn syrup is “natural,” as it is derived from corn, then it is wholesome and safe, much like natural radon gas, lead and tobacco.

Next page: The Truth About High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Five Things You Need to Know

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Nancy A.

8:21PM PST on Dec 11, 2010

Propaganda to eat toxins? What insanity is this?!

send a green star

Arthur K.

9:36AM PST on Nov 26, 2010

GO VEGAN !!!!!

Mary Jean B.

10:54AM PDT on Aug 11, 2010

I have been aware of the EVILS of HFCS for awhile...it takes forever to shop for food but I feel that its worth it to eat a healthier diet. I have also noticed some breads and cereals are making it a point to say on their label.....no HFCS or TRANS FATS...this is helpful! MJBerling

Megan R.

8:18AM PDT on Aug 10, 2010

I hate those commercials. They honestly made me feel like they thought EVERYONE was an idiot. When I read what HFCS is in, I literally jumped up and ran to the freezer. It makes me sick to think how much of that crap I've been putting in my body. No wonder I can't lose any weight, despite the fact that I just had surgery and my calorie count is down. ugh.

KD W.

5:53PM PDT on Aug 7, 2010

More people should be made aware of the dangers associated with this product. We should all band together and start a campaign to end the use of it so widely. Where's those petitions Care2?

Ann E.

2:18PM PDT on Aug 4, 2010

I haven't seen the TV ads but have seen several somewhat similar magazine ads. In these, one of the people will announce something like their furnace repairman told them HFCS is bad for you and the other person will respond patronizingly, "Oh, your furnace repairman is a licensed dietitian?" Very condescending...

Margo S.

9:12AM PDT on Aug 4, 2010

NO FRIDGES THEN...EXCEPT FOR THE RICH....BUT WE ALL SURVIVED.....AND THERE WAS LESS ILLNESS ROUND THEN......

9:10AM PDT on Aug 4, 2010

HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGE IN OVER A CENTURY...AND ALL BECAUSE OF GREED AND POWER...over 60 odd yrs ago, you could leave food..including meat, [ milk in a bucket of cold water]no cartons then, only bottles... in a wooden frame with wire mesh [to keep flies away]ALL PURE FOOD GROWN ORGANICALLY IN BACK GARDENS...

Kim C.

6:58AM PDT on Aug 4, 2010

I avoid as much high-fructose corn syrup as possible. I read labels. I work in a restaurant and read those labels to. It really limits what I will eat there.
Hunt's now has catsup that is made with sugar and not high-fructose corn syrup. A few other brands are following suit but not enough.

Janice P.

4:25AM PDT on Aug 4, 2010

I never noticed how many foods and beverages contain high fructose corn syrup until I read all of these Care 2 articles. I am MUCH choosier now concerning what I buy, but it certainly takes much longer to shop these days. What a shame that we have to stand in the grocery stores and spend half of our time reading. Wouldn't it be better if it weren't used in so many products in the first place?