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High fructose corn syrup rebranded as 'corn sugar'

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Re: High fructose corn syrup rebranded as 'corn sugar'

#41

Post by jcl »

warfangle wrote: post #23

I don't eat HFCS because of semi-dubious claims as to health. I don't eat HFCS because I refuse to help the industry that is most to blame for the algae bloom in the Gulf, and I don't believe that government subsidies should be what makes a given industry profitable (outside, say, weapons research, development, and manufacture - but that's an entirely different can of worms that I oppose on an entirely different reas…

(I guess you mean "I don't not eat HFCS..." in the first sentence. Substituting "avoid" for "don't eat" might be clearer.)

Re: High fructose corn syrup rebranded as 'corn sugar'

#42

Post by araneae »

Tangurena wrote: post #7

Trying to eliminate what I consider "bad" foods from my diet is becoming harder as the producers change the name. I really don't care if it has been proved beyond a shadow of a doubt to be bad - because that process took over 100 years for tobacco. I want X out of my life, I should be allowed to detect items containing X.

You eat tons of things every day that are equivalent to X without realizing it.

Would you shy away from foods that have list of ingredients that included fructose and glucose? That's all corn syrup is (and a few random corn solids here and there.)

Apples have a really high fructose content too, so technically drinking apple juice can be worse than drinking a dilute corn syrup solution (depending on the kind of HFCS), but almost no one thinks twice about that because it's "natural." (Although there is a growing anti-juice movement.)

Data from Wikipedia (remaining content is glucose):

HFCS90: 90% Fructose

Apple Juice: 63-78% Fructose

HFCS55: 55% Fructose

HFCS43: 43% Fructose

Re: High fructose corn syrup rebranded as 'corn sugar'

#43

Post by gxti »

tptacek wrote: post #2

And? Sugar is what's bad for you. The "high fructose" in HFCS is "high" relative to other corn syrup ; table sugar breaks down into glucose and fructose during digestion. "Big Corn" is probably right, here; "HFCS" is a misleading term (for one thing, it doesn't mean anything --- different HFCS blends have wildly different amounts of fructose), and more importantly, the notion that it's just "the bad kind of sugar" th…

Indeed, HFCS and sugar are biologically equivalent. The problem is that since it became available it is being put in everything as a substitute for real flavor. People are more likely to buy products that "taste better" when really it's just saturated with sugar.

Re: High fructose corn syrup rebranded as 'corn sugar'

#44

Post by Tangurena »

araneae wrote: post #42
Tangurena wrote: post #7

Trying to eliminate what I consider "bad" foods from my diet is becoming harder as the producers change the name. I really don't care if it has been proved beyond a shadow of a doubt to be bad - because that process took over 100 years for tobacco. I want X out of my life, I should be allowed to detect items containing X.

You eat tons of things every day that are equivalent to X without realizing it. Would you shy away from foods that have list of ingredients that included fructose and glucose? That's all corn syrup is (and a few random corn solids here and there.) Apples have a really high fructose content too, so technically drinking apple juice can be worse than drinking a dilute corn syrup solution (depending on the kind of HFCS),…

Maybe I'm Jewish and I want to keep kosher. Maybe I'm not. It is my decision what goes into my body. Not yours. Not some company's.

There are a lot of foods I don't eat anymore. I happen to love chocolate. But I don't want to eat chocolate with PGPR in it, therefore I don't purchase Hershey's anymore. Is PGPR "bad" for me? Umm, no. When you were a child, you had (and ate) "wax lips" which are PGPR with some color added. It doesn't belong in my chocolate, therefore I refuse to eat it, and refuse to purchase foods with PGPR

Re: High fructose corn syrup rebranded as 'corn sugar'

#45

Post by m0nastic »

technomancy wrote: post #33
tptacek wrote: post #2

And? Sugar is what's bad for you. The "high fructose" in HFCS is "high" relative to other corn syrup ; table sugar breaks down into glucose and fructose during digestion. "Big Corn" is probably right, here; "HFCS" is a misleading term (for one thing, it doesn't mean anything --- different HFCS blends have wildly different amounts of fructose), and more importantly, the notion that it's just "the bad kind of sugar" th…

Not everyone avoids HFCS because of health reasons; some of us avoid it because it tastes like shit.

We avoid it because my girlfriend is allergic to it; which seriously limits what foods we can buy from the store.

Re: High fructose corn syrup rebranded as 'corn sugar'

#46

Post by hyperbovine »

poutine wrote: post #30
MartinCron wrote: post #16

Back when I was in Business School, I did some strategic analysis role-modeling as if I were in charge of Monsanto. At the time, Monsanto was best known for the "terminator gene", suing farmers allegedly stealing their agricultural IP, and BT corn that killed monarch butterflies. I suggested that they change their name as the first part of their strategy to turn over a new leaf in both PR as well as core business act…

It's a good strategy. Interestingly Blackwater changed their name to Xe to try and shake off the bad image. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_Worldwide Still a nasty organization, name change or not.

I think the trick is in choosing a new name that actually sounds nicer than the old one, and not that of an alien overlord.

Re: High fructose corn syrup rebranded as 'corn sugar'

#47

Post by araneae »

Tangurena wrote: post #44
araneae wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You eat tons of things every day that are equivalent to X without realizing it. Would you shy away from foods that have list of ingredients that included fructose and glucose? That's all corn syrup is (and a few random corn solids here and there.) Apples have a really high fructose content too, so technically drinking apple juice can be worse than drinking a dilute corn syrup solution (depending on the kind of HFCS),…

Maybe I'm Jewish and I want to keep kosher. Maybe I'm not. It is my decision what goes into my body. Not yours. Not some company's. There are a lot of foods I don't eat anymore. I happen to love chocolate. But I don't want to eat chocolate with PGPR in it, therefore I don't purchase Hershey's anymore. Is PGPR "bad" for me? Umm, no. When you were a child, you had (and ate) "wax lips" which are PGPR with some color add…

>It doesn't belong in my chocolate, therefore I refuse to eat it, and refuse to purchase foods with PGPR

You're weird. Chocolate originally comes in bean form; some brilliant South Americans got the idea to grind it up with sugar and water and drink it. Chocolate in solid form is a pretty damn new idea and hardly even counts as a food; it's a pretty weird concoction to be a "purist" about. Where does your platonic idea of chocolate come from?

I have a few friends that keep pretty strict kosher, and I think they're weird too. But at least I can get a handle on it because it's written in book they feel like following the rules of. I don't really understand this extreme fetishism we have for what we eat that people pull out of their anal area.

Re: High fructose corn syrup rebranded as 'corn sugar'

#48

Post by philwelch »

nopassrecover wrote: post #31
gruseom wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, you know what, I bet that's exactly why they picked the name. "Corn syrup" and "cane sugar" are comfortable and familiar. What could fit in with those better than "corn sugar"? One has to make a cognitive effort to distinguish them, and people don't make that kind of cognitive effort very often. This is brilliant marketing. The tobacco industry must be green with envy.

Just like distinguishing baking soda from baking powder.

Have you ever eaten something baked by someone who missed that distinction? It is an unpleasant experience.

Re: High fructose corn syrup rebranded as 'corn sugar'

#49

Post by kiuyhjk »

seiji wrote: post #40
MartinCron wrote: post #16

Back when I was in Business School, I did some strategic analysis role-modeling as if I were in charge of Monsanto. At the time, Monsanto was best known for the "terminator gene", suing farmers allegedly stealing their agricultural IP, and BT corn that killed monarch butterflies. I suggested that they change their name as the first part of their strategy to turn over a new leaf in both PR as well as core business act…

Value Jet renamed themselves AirTran after one of their planes exploded. GTE became Verizon after being horrible for years. Great hacker branding intro: http://blip.tv/file/319044/ "A brand is a const identifier." (back story to the video: http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2007/08/how-to-make-funny-ta... )

Windscale renamed itself Sellafield after a little tiny, nothing to worry about, nothing to see here, reactor explosion.

Plan B, after the next incident, is to rename it Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Re: High fructose corn syrup rebranded as 'corn sugar'

#50

Post by Tangurena »

araneae wrote: post #47
Tangurena wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I'm Jewish and I want to keep kosher. Maybe I'm not. It is my decision what goes into my body. Not yours. Not some company's. There are a lot of foods I don't eat anymore. I happen to love chocolate. But I don't want to eat chocolate with PGPR in it, therefore I don't purchase Hershey's anymore. Is PGPR "bad" for me? Umm, no. When you were a child, you had (and ate) "wax lips" which are PGPR with some color add…

>It doesn't belong in my chocolate, therefore I refuse to eat it, and refuse to purchase foods with PGPR You're weird. Chocolate originally comes in bean form; some brilliant South Americans got the idea to grind it up with sugar and water and drink it. Chocolate in solid form is a pretty damn new idea and hardly even counts as a food; it's a pretty weird concoction to be a "purist" about. Where does your platonic id…

>Where does your platonic idea of chocolate come from?

Cadbury Flake.

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