Corn Confusion

The amount of corn that is incorporated into the diets of Americans is a frightening thing to think about when you realize that corn has one of the worst nutritional values of all grains. Though corn does not seem to be a high demand product, Steven Rattner confirms in his article The Great Corn Con that it is produced as America’s largest crop. In fact,  just as the article mentions corn is consumed not only as a food item itself, but also through the different meats that are consumed (as animals eat mass amounts of corn), as well as through ethanol products. The reason that this can be such a problem is that grains like corn have been found to cause many chronic diseases, such as cancer, depression, obesity, allergies, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, and asthma (Slanker). In other words, the effect that corn has on our society becomes personal and serious. Nevertheless, the knowledge that people have about corn or about other foods that may be harmful to them is extremely limited. For this reason, it is important for citizens to become more educated about the effects that corn has on them and take a stand for themselves and for their health by communicating with their government as to different ways such issues could be improved. In my opinion, the most essential elements that could help with such an issue would be to provide individuals with resources that would educate them not only insofar as the reasons that foods like corn and corn products are negative to their health, but also provide them with alternatives that can improve their diets and health.

The reason I feel that providing education and alternative strategies would be effective is that often people hear or learn about the negative effects that certain foods have on them, but do not learn enough about those effects or do not learn different methods as to how they can change their eating habits. However, I feel that if individuals were provided with this information it could improve health throughout America. In addition, I feel that if more people were to become aware of such issues and to realize the importance of them, governments would respond accordingly, improving issues along the subjects of corn consumption, to spending, as far as pollution created from ethanol. When considering the effects corn can have on health, it is a no-brainer that the amount of corn consumption in the United States should decrease. After all, the US is one of the world’s most fortunate countries, and reducing corn consumption should not present a problem, especially because it so expensive to begin with. I personally do not understand why so much money is spent on corn if corn has such terrible effects on Americans. After all, so much money is spent on corn, money which ultimately only generates more costs for health and healthcare.

http://www.texasgrassfedbeef.com/corn__it_s_what_s_bad_for_you.htm