Corn and Its Effects on The Human Body

Ever since Michelle Obama took out my beloved Hot Fries from my high school’s vending machines, I knew it was war. What did my favorite snack ever do to our previous First Lady? It wasn’t until I reached college that I began to open my eyes to America’s epidemic: obesity. Portion sizes, sugars, carbs, fried everything- it has taken ahold of the gaining older generation, which has then been passed on through gastronomic tradition to the youth of this nation. The risk of diabetes, cancer, and obesity all increase from the consumption of processed food. Writer, Michael Pollan, discusses these rising issues and our ability to prevent it through consciously consuming healthier options in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. When we break down all of these fattening foods, one ingredient continues to persist: corn. Corn has become a staple in the agricultural industry here in the United States, and has become the standard for all processed foods. Corn, while grounded into the history of American cuisine, may be linked to the United States’ rising obesity epidemic and other diseases such as E.Coli and cancer; unfortunately, its large presence in Americans’ diets may make cutting out this vegetable nearly impossible.

Corn, at its basic level, has been mass produced because of the multi international demand for corn-based products. In the documentary Food Inc., Troy Roush- Vice President of the American Corn Growers Association- says that, “30% of our land base is being planted to corn. That is largely driven by government policy … that, in effect, allows us to produce corn below the cost of production. The truth of the matter is that we are paid to overproduce.” Big name companies have an interest in below cost production corn for their financial gain. Coca-Cola, now the leading beverage company in the world, uses high fructose corn syrup as a cost-effective alternative to sugar. Chips and fast food chains have become the go-to cost effective and quick way to gain energy as we run through our lives. Tyson, one of the top chicken companies in the world, feeds corn to its livestock. Not only are chickens being fed corn, our other meats such as pork and beef are being fed exclusively corn. Why? Because corn is readily available without breaking too much into the budget. America lives off of “fast and cheaper” alternatives; in the booming industry of American food products, there is, in turn, a demand for corn.

Corn has become one of the main ingredients of feed to our meats because of its cost efficiency; however, as corners were cut, E. Coli outbreaks grew in frequency. Because cows are not built to consume the starchy material that is corn, cows have become fatter quicker, but have also created a mutated bacteria that infects their stomachs. Allen Trenkle, a Ruminant Nutrition Expert, explains this dangerous bacteria in the documentary Food Inc.: “There’s microorganisms-- bacteria in the rumen, millions of ‘em. There is some research that indicates that high-corn diet results in E. Coli that are acid resistant. And this would be the more harmful E. Coli.” With the increase of E. Coli, there has been a direct correlation to the increase in the consumption of meat because of our ability to drive down meat prices and how cost effective corn has become. Just in 2014 alone, the CDC stated that “eleven people [were] infected with the outbreak strain of STEC O157:H7 were reported from five states … seven ill people were hospitalized. One ill person developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure.” In congruence to this claim, in the year 2014 “the U.S. exported 1.7 billion metric tons (MT*) of beef and beef variety meat.” (North American Meat Institute) With people getting sick from E. Coli breakouts and, in some cases, dying, why are we increasing production of meat rather than addressing the problem and attempting to reduce these meat-centered diseases?

Corn is even making us more susceptible to cancer. Lower blood fat levels lead to heart diseases, which is due to “the lack of naturally occurring omega-3s that are found in healthier livestock feed [which] lead to a poor omega-3 to omega-6 ratio in livestock fed corn products routinely.” (Slanker’s Grass-Fed Meats) This “other illnesses” category includes cancer. Researchers in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute studied the correlation to Omega-3 and Breast Cancer tumors on mice:

Tumor growth rates in the mice of the group fed diet Cm were significantly greater than for mice of either of the two groups fed diets containing higher levels of menhaden oil … These results indicate that a high-fat diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids can suppress human breast cancer cell growth and metastases in this mouse model system.

Omega-3 is proven to have rich benefits to the human body, but because of the corn epidemic, omega-3 is more commonly found in supplements rather than meat. With cancer being one of the most researched diseases, why do we keep ignoring the signs? Why do we keep seeing statistics of how this specific nutrient prevents cancer, but keep feeding ourselves products that can lead to that cancer? Cancer is just one of the reasons why we should really watch what we put into our bodies.

In congruence to consumption of corn-based products, the fear of childhood obesity stems from the increasing numbers of children in America with type two diabetes. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, “nearly 26 million American adults and children have diabetes. About 79 million Americans aged 20 years and older have prediabetes, a condition that increases the risk for developing diabetes.” Type two diabetes is formed over time, with the first sign being insulin resistance. As the pancreas becomes unable to create enough insulin, beta cells are damaged and all production of insulin stops. Research conducted by Princeton University in 2015 found that “high-fructose corn syrup caused major weight gain in laboratory animals and further caused significant increases in abdominal fat after long-term consumption.” And as we consume more and more corn-based products like fructose, our body cannot breakdown its materials and forms the insulin resistance: “fructose does not stimulate insulin secretion or enhance leptin production. Because insulin and leptin act as key afferent signals in the regulation of food intake and body weight, this suggests that dietary fructose may contribute to increased energy intake and weight gain.” (The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) Childhood obesity may lead to the life-long reliance of insulin and the increase of body mass, all due to our cuisine’s dependence on corn-based products.

Companies thrive from the cost-efficiency of corn, and constantly are trying to overshadow the big, scary headlines of E.Coli or childhood obesity. E. Coli outbreaks have not only lead to countless meat callbacks, but also callbacks in other products like peanut butter, apple juice, and spinach, and it is the result of runoff from our factory farms. Yet, during the Bush administration, leaders of “these regulatory agencies [were] being controlled by the very companies that they [were] supposed to be scrutinizing.” (Schlosser, Food Inc.) People in power to make sure that these issues did not happen, were gaining profit to just sit and watch. The CRA, Corn Refiners Association, released a little commercial in 2011 advocating for high fructose corn syrup as a scene unfolds between two mothers at a child’s birthday party. After one concerned mother tells the other mother that corn is essentially bad for children, the other mother says: “It’s made from corn. It’s natural, and like sugar, it’s fine in moderation.” (CRA) This circulated our nighttime television commercial slots and made us believe that HFCS was the same thing as table sugar. The consumption of corn has become a multi-trillion dollar business that leaders of the agricultural industry want to keep the scares of corn down to a minimum. But as humans progress in technology, scientific research allows the public more information of long-term effects of a high-corn diet.

We, as free-thinking individuals, have the opportunity to avoid this corn-rancid hole, but is it worth the time? Michael Pollan wrote in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma that unlike the cow, have the physical capability to consume different foods without the fear of creating dangerous bacteria in our stomachs. “To one degree or another, the question of what to have for dinner assails every omnivore, and always has. When you can eat just about anything nature has to offer, deciding what you should eat will inevitably stir anxiety … This is the omnivore’s dilemma.” (Pollan) Rather than consuming fast foods, Pollen is suggesting in this book that humans can go back to their roots as hunter-gatherers. By gathering locally, you cut out the corn-induced agricultural industry and gain the nutrients lost through the mass production process. After the fact, Pollan concluded that he had spent more time gathering the food than preparing it, stating that the feasibility of this practice is “equally unreal and equally unsustainable.” (Pollan) In order to be productive in society, we cannot commit to the full-time job of avoiding the corn-induced industry.

Corn, in all of its sustainable and financial benefits, cannot mask the negative effects it has had on the human body. With our increase of production, the increase in human and livestock diseases have increased. And while the notion of sticking it to the man and living off the land is nice, it is not viable to the society we live in today. Corn will not be the doom of us all, but it should make us more aware of what we put into our bodies and how frequently we replenish it. As much as it pains me to say it, Michelle Obama was right to be that catalyst for American public school students to eat healthier options and to take out snacks with high saturation in corn-based products like Hot Fries.