Comments on: Monocrops are so corny (Day 278)…

By: jackets

jackets — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:53:09 +0000

Have a very happy new year

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 03:18:36 +0000

My nickname has been scary corn for a long while now. However, that now takes on a whole new meaning.

By: mark

mark — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 02:25:22 +0000

Just to second natalie above, its not impossible. In fact, I’d say its pretty darn easy to go without corn products. If one’s diet consists of processed food, then yeah, best of luck pulling that off. But if one is making one’s own food from veggies, fruits, grains, nuts, etc (not wrapped in plastic or tin or glass), then its extremely easy. For those processed items, the health food store is much much less likely to have corn products (particularly HFCS) than the mainstream store. For example, mainstream juices do, while health food juices don’t.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 01:00:10 +0000

Going without corn/soy isn’t impossible… my parents and siblings do because of the potential risks of genetically modified foods. Here in the US, unlike in the European Union, which has mandatory labeling for foods containing GMO, there isn’t any way to tell if the corn/soy/cotton seed oil in the product on your grocery’s shelves is GMO or not, so they just avoid all of them. It takes creative cooking, lots of cooking from scratch, intensive label reading… and having garden produce stashed away doesn’t hurt. But it isn’t impossible!

Personally, I avoid corn/soy/cottonseed, but I do buy things with those ingredients sometimes because often they’re cheaper, or there isn’t any other choice for that product (like: corn chips).

By: Jennie

Jennie — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:39:15 +0000

Don’t forget the harm that monocrops do to the bee population. This style of industrialized agriculture is suspected to be part of the reason why the bees are dying. And without bees we’re in trouble.

By: Greenpa

Greenpa — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:36:51 +0000

Non-corn kitty litter: http://www.swheatscoop.com/

Made from wheat, not corn. Our cat is indoor-outdoor, so we don’t use it; I’m aware because I’ve met the maker; they seem like nice folks. Not sure you can actually GET it, of course!

Something that would be useful (and a lot of work for you but what the heck…) You could document the COST of this change to you. Every time you turn away from corny product A, and buy non-corn product B – write down the prices and sizes of both (a spread-sheet would be a huge help). Eventually you would come up with a REAL NUMBER – that rare but highly prized critter- to let folks know the reality. How much does it cost you to be so green?

That would be really worth knowing- and, incidentally – worth a regular article or two for your boss at the paper, beyond the blogosphere.

By: Molly

Molly — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:45:01 +0000

This is a huge undertaking. Good luck!

By: Sherry

Sherry — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:13:24 +0000

This is sounding like a hard one…lol…can’t wait to see the updates…love your blog so much…thanks for being a great source of info and such an inspiration!

By: Aimeé

Aimeé — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:05:37 +0000

@cynthia1770 – thanks for the links! Very informative.
I’ve read Omnivore’s Dilemma, drug my hubbie to King Corn (he loved it, as did I), and am currently reading “Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats” by Steve Ettlinger – he goes down the ingredients lists and investigated where each one comes from – it’s scary but fascinating. The chapter on corn sweeteners goes into depth about how HFCS is made.
Good luck, Vanessa, I’m rooting for you!

By: sue

sue — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 03:52:04 +0000

Good luck to you! I’m on a no HFCS diet, and have been since I got pregnant with my daughter 4 years ago and got serious about reading labels. It’s in the craziest places! One of the most puzzling was canned diced tomatoes (why? WHY?) I haven’t tried to rid myself of corn entirely, though – I feel like shopping with two children in tow and reading labels for HFCS, total sugar grams, fiber, whole grain content, organic status, and salt content (plus looking to minimize long chemical words in the ingredient list) is enough to make my head spin. Don’t know if I could take looking to determine whether something has corn or soy lecithin or other such minutiae. I suppose since you’re buying mainly local organic produce it won’t be as much of an issue for you, but the preserving wax sprayed on most produce is corn based. Plus a lot of the packaging, at least in the US. And don’t forget that the good biodegradable packing peanuts are corn (for all your Christmas mailing needs). And I think the compostable silverware and plates are corn as well. But those are an instance where using corn is preferable to using plastic or styrofoam. Maybe your rule should be more like – “I won’t eat corn in place of real food” instead of “I won’t buy corn” because it’s going to be tough!

At least you’re in Canada (as opposed to the US)- you’ll have a fighting chance! (any chance there’s corn in those plastic milk bags?) Sorry to sound pessimistic. I just know how hard it is to try this one. But you don’t have sleep deprived mommy brain, so maybe you’ll be able to better parse the information out there.

One owrd of adivce – keep reading labels of your favorite brands. I’ve found that they change recipes very often. I’ll find a “safe” brand and 6 months later, they’ve put HFCS in it. ARGH!