I've been reading and hearing about the cost of corn skyrocketing, and speculation is that it's due to the emergence of ethanol as an alternative fuel. Apparently there is a huge demand for corn now to produce the fuel. Stories are that the cost of corn tortillas has tripled in Mexico because the cost of corn has risen so dramatically.

Since most of us here don't eat corn, should we be concerned, or even interested? Well, I was just thinking that, if the cost of corn is rising, perhaps there will no longer be cheap corn syrup, and then food producers will quit putting this poison into every food imagineable!

Now, wouldn't that be just great? No more corn syrup in our kielbasi, or in our kids breakfast cereal, or our sausage patties, or the "low carb" ice cream (yeah, I've seen it there, too!). We wouldn't have to read every label looking to see if they put it in our hot dogs, or ham, or any other processed food we probably shouldn't eat, but still do occasionally.

So, I'm waiting to see how this all plays out, if it's really so that corn prices are rising, and if it will make a difference with our food supply. Or will they concoct some other, even more evil, additive to replace the corn syrup? (Ack, I hope they don't start using maltitol!)

What do you think?

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Nita

Wouldn't that be wonderful, no more HFCS.

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Good thought, Nita! I'd rather be putting it in my gas tank than in my body.

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Are we still talking about HFCS, Maggie?

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Another point to ponder.

Those who are wanting fast weight loss, right now, right now! Well, if you lose too fast, it's like falling off a cliff, when you hit bottom you could crash big time, you certainly don't enjoy the trip down, and you can do damage to your body. However, if you look on it as a nice slow descent, like using a parachute, you will have a nice gentle trip downward, possibly have time to look around and enjoy the scenery, (your food, of course!), and then you'll see your destination coming at you at a steady pace, slow and sure, not in your face, bap!

There's no hurry in losing weight. Take your time, focus on your health, look around and see what you need to do to tweak your diet (not diet as in weight loss, but as in your daily food regimen). Perhaps you'll end up stalled, sitting on a ledge for a time, maybe even climb back up some, but eventually you can start your descent again, when you find what you need to do. It will come, with time. Just be patient.

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Nita

Love your parachute analogy!
As far as corn for alternate fuel, there was a really good article in US News and World Report that actually said that corn is not a good alternative for us for alternate fuel use. There is not enough land and renewable resources to sustain this. They were saying that switch grass would be a better source for fuel because it is renewable and doesn't cause the problems that corn does.
Apparently from an enviromental stand point corn fuel (ethanol) is harmful to the enviroment because ethanol cannot run through the pipelines we have created for gas. It eats through the pipes. So the fuel and c.d. that would come from shipping ethanol is actually just as harmful from an emmissions stand point as gasoline.
So I think the price increase is a short term issue.
Thanks so much for bringing up such a fasinating subject! You rock!

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Mab, I didn't know that about corn-based ethanol. If corn can do so much bad to our bodies, I guess it doesn't need to run our cars, either!

If they want to use any kind of grass, they can come to Texas and use Johnson grass, it's so hard to get rid of. Or mesquite trees. They are nothing but a nuisance, sucking water out of the ground. Perhaps someone needs to get a grant and try making fuel out of all kinds of stuff. There's been much success using used cooking oil, and I even heard of people making fuel out of old sugar candy, you know all that hard stuff left over after the holidays that no one will eat! Better in the gas tank than in my body, that's for sure.

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Nita

The price of milk is going up as a result of the government's support for increased ethanol production. The dairy farmers around here are now finding that the cost of corn (to supplement or replace what they grow - such as in a case of crop failure) to feed their herds has increased dramatically. The rush to produce ethanol has caused a corn scarcity, driving the prices up.

Every policy and every bit of legislation has unintended consequences.

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Nita, I have heard a lot about the cooking oil fuel source. Apparently you take a deisel fuel engine and convert it to run on cooking oil. Fascinating stuff! Isn't it interesting that the things that negatively effect our bodies can be used for the equivalent of gasoline. Now that tells a story. You wouldn't drink gasoline, but you would use corn, oil and certain fat in your diet without thought. A little off topic perhaps, but very interesting.

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