have you eaten corn today?

[Darren Dirt]

...you probably have, without knowing it.
"Food, Inc." trailer



Nice change, though, by the sound of the trailer it's actually a HOPEFUL-themed film (i.e. at the end you don't feel full of doom and gloom, instead you might actually want to do something...)

Not exactly a controversy-free film, that's for sure...

[Tom]

Lots of things have High-fructose corn syrup in it.. so its not exactly surprising. Is that what thats about? The page didn't seem to load properly, didn't see a video there to watch.

[Lazybones]

Try going a day without consuming additional salt or sugar.

[Darren Dirt]

The page didn't seem to load properly, didn't see a video there to watch.

'ing MSNBC... try this. Also the Wikipedia page describes the 3 sections of the documentary. Not just corn syrup, but cornmeal and other corn-based filler products are in everything it seems    Corn is big (subsidized!) business...


oh, and on the subject of food awareness...
"Chocolate, Cheese, Meat, and Sugar -- Physically Addictive Foods" (mmmm... A chocolately Cheesey Meaty Pizza would taste so good right now...)

[Thorin]

Try going a day without consuming additional salt or sugar.

Will you bet me money that I can?  I'd have no problem going 24 hours without eating...

Not just corn syrup, but cornmeal and other corn-based filler products are in everything it seems    Corn is big (subsidized!) business...

Yes.  Now here's something you might find interesting: Demand for ethanol has boomed as it's being touted the next big "gasoline".  Ethanol is usually made from corn in the US.  Corn is therefore a good crop to grow, and farmers want it to grow as quick and as big as possible to maximize their yield and thus their return on investment.  To grow the corn quickly, farmers are applying a lot of fertilizer.  Because of this, the price of fertilizer has skyrocketed and farmers in Canada are now looking for cheaper fertilizer from other countries.  Why is all this important?  Well, Churchill, Manitoba, made history when it received it's first shipment from Russia ever, a shipment of cheap fertilizer!

Friday, Apr. 03, 2009

The Russian ship slipped into Canada's northern seaport under the cover of darkness yesterday, and its arrival was hailed as an historic step in the construction of an Arctic bridge between the two countries.

The Kapitan Sviridov docked in Churchill, Man., yesterday morning, having sailed from Estonia loaded with bags of fertilizer destined for sale to North American farmers. It's the first time the port has accepted imports from Russia.

[..]

"As ice continues to melt, this is potentially the shortest route connecting North America to Eurasia," Mr. Berk said. "If we expand and connect Churchill with Murmansk, an ice-free, year-round port, we're talking about creating a bridge that will link North American markets with increasingly important Eurasian markets. It's also the closest route for transporting goods from Asia to the Midwestern United States directly, bypassing the bottlenecks of congested ports in the Pacific. When one starts to think about these issues combined, the opportunity is tremendous."

[..]

The fertilizer that arrived yesterday was bought by the Farmers of North America, a Saskatchewan-based co-operative. The ethanol boom has driven fertilizer prices sky high, so the potential exists for much cheaper fertilizer to be brought from Eastern Europe at lower cost.

What I find really funny is that the global warming scare is causing us to try and use non-oil products that in turn cause commodity prices to rise that in turn cause us to import things from further away using more fossil fuels.  Meanwhile, the corn farmers of the midwest US are laughing all the way to the bank.

[Darren Dirt]

...at least they aren't farming a commodity that the US gubmint actually PAYS THEM to DESTROY... sorta an anti-subsidy (in order to keep "price controls" working)

[Thorin]

Can you elaborate?

[Lazybones]

Yes.  Now here's something you might find interesting: Demand for ethanol has boomed as it's being touted the next big "gasoline".  Ethanol is usually made from corn in the US.  Corn is therefore a good crop to grow, and farmers want it to grow as quick and as big as possible to maximize their yield and thus their return on investment. 

Accept, that ethanol may be wrecking fuel lines, and gastanks http://www.practical-sailor.com/tools/ethanol-fuel-and-outboard-engines.html

It also requires almost as much fuel and energy to harvest and process as it produces making it one of the dirtier fuels over all environmentally.

There is also not enough farmland in all of the US to meet the USs own fuel demands.

[Darren Dirt]

Can you elaborate?

http://www.google.com/search?q=us+farmers+paid+not+to+farm

http://www.google.com/search?q=us+farmers+paid+to+destroy+crops


for example,

Farmers in America did well out of the New Deal. The farmers of  America did not prosper in the so-called Roaring Twenties. They were simply too successful in that they produced far too much for the American market. With western Europe as a market effectively closed to them as a result of a tariff war, the farmers could only sell in America. Too much product for too few people caused prices to plummet.

- http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/New_Deal_farmers.htm

[Thorin]

I agree with you, Lazy, that it's not a viable substitute.  Decision makers in the American government don't see it that way, though, so ethanol continues to be in demand, corn continues to be used for ethanol, and fertilizer prices are skyrocketing because of its use for growing corn.

Darren, that first Google search came up with three links about the US government paying people not to farm, then two links about the European Union doing the same thing...  So it's not a US-only forehead-smacker.

[Tom]

I agree with you, Lazy, that it's not a viable substitute.  Decision makers in the American government don't see it that way, though, so ethanol continues to be in demand, corn continues to be used for ethanol, and fertilizer prices are skyrocketing because of its use for growing corn.

Darren, that first Google search came up with three links about the US government paying people not to farm, then two links about the European Union doing the same thing...  So it's not a US-only forehead-smacker.

If one group does it, others have to or your farmers complain.

[Thorin]

Well they don't jhave to.  Just look at how under-supported Canadian farmers are (compared to the US and the EU).  I mean, we're buying our fertilizer from Russia?  Why can't we just buy the same fertilizer the Americans can afford?!

[Tom]

Well they don't jhave to.  Just look at how under-supported Canadian farmers are (compared to the US and the EU).  I mean, we're buying our fertilizer from Russia?  Why can't we just buy the same fertilizer the Americans can afford?!

Ah, you are right. But the Canadian gov't couldn't care less about central or western canada. So its hardly a surprise they won't help the farmers, or compete with other countries as much.

[Mr. Analog]

Try going a day without consuming additional salt or sugar.

Ooh ooh, that's what I'm trying to do and it's @%&#in' hard. I dropped caffeine, alcohol, refined sugars and pretty much anything with a high carb count.

Yeah, at lunch time if I forgot to bring something I go to Sobey's and buy a friggin' bag-o-salad...

...except today, where I had CFL... bad me... bad.

[Darren Dirt]

Try going a day without consuming additional salt or sugar.

Ooh ooh, that's what I'm trying to do and it's @%&#in' hard. I dropped caffeine, alcohol, refined sugars and pretty much anything with a high carb count.

Yeah, at lunch time if I forgot to bring something I go to Sobey's and buy a friggin' bag-o-salad...

...except today, where I had CFL... bad me... bad.

Respect, bro -- I'm having trouble not having a sugary treat at the 2pm-3pm window most afternoons, so I'm impressed with what you said above (delayed New Years resolution? )