You know about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), don’t you? It is a sweetener used in many snack foods. It is primarily used as the sweetening agent in almost every soda, sweetened beverage and juice at the grocery store and local Quik Mart.

The problem with HFCS is that it is bad for you.

Studies have shown direct links to consumption of HFCS and obesity and diabetes. HFCS is stripped of the nutritional agents that send the signal to our brains that we have had enough sugar and can stop eating now. According to a recent study performed by the United States Department of Agriculture, a high-fructose diet shortened the life span of laboratory mice from a normal two years to an “eat fast, die young” five weeks.

Another study performed with human subjects was stopped because some of the subjects developed abnormal heart conditions.

As a result of all this disturbing research, smart shoppers have turned their backs on products containing HFCS.

This does not sit well with Pepsi and Coke shareholders. HFCS is used in place of sugar or sucrose because it’s cheap. It’s cheap because it’s processed from American-grown corn. Before you start getting misty about amber waves of grain, realize that the corn is not grown by Mr. Greenjeans on his organic farm. It is grown by large agri-industrial corporations like Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill.

These firms receive huge government subsidies, thanks to their highly paid lobbyists in Washington, D.C. These subsidies are used to develop genetically modified Frankenfoods like glow-in- the-dark tomatoes and cows that can be raised in a box. Yum. They also get truckloads of money for turning corn into ethanol.

Thanks to us taxpayers, these guys are not hurting for money. But, as any millionaire will tell you, you can never have too much money, and when people turn their noses up at HFCS, it hurts their sacred profit margin.

In response to consumer demand for less HFCS, these companies and other members of the Corn Refiners Association have been airing commercials to promote HFCS consumption. A recently televised spot shows two mothers at a child’s birthday party. One mother pours her kid a fruit drink, while the other expresses concerns. “You don’t care what your kids eat?” the concerned mom asks.

The pro-punch mother responds that HFCS is “as natural as sugar and honey and is fine in moderation…” and treats the nutritionally aware mother like some kind of food elitist. What’s the matter? American grown corn sweetener ain’t good enough for ya? Didn’t anyone tell those lab rats about moderation?

This may seem to be a harmless pitch for a junk food additive, but let’s break it down a little. First, it portrays a mother concerned for her child’s health as some kind of fun-killing food snob. It is equating concern with elitism and the HFCS huckstering mother has had enough of being talked down to by know-it-alls.

Second, there is a whiff of nationalism about it. This corn syrup is made from corn, presumably grown by American farmers. Of course, the “farms” are not small, family-owned affairs. They are corporate-owned businesses. Just the same, you are either with the American farms or you are against them.

Third, these commercials are attempting to convince people that a substance that has been scientifically proven to be unhealthy is no worse than more natural ingredients. Remember when the tobacco companies tried to tell the American public that their products had nothing to do with cancer?

More and more, commercial air time is being paid for by large corporate interests trying to convince us that what is harmful is harmless. This is “spin.” This is where things get spun around 180 degrees so that lies now seem like truth. Being knowledgeable is being elitist. Being concerned about consequences is being a killjoy. Being anti-corporate profit is being anti-American.

Spin is effective at selling people sweet, sticky stuff that will give them diabetes and heart problems. And it seems to be just as effective at selling people political candidates.

Drill, baby, drill. And, while you’re at it, get yourself another soda. It’s good for you.

Mike Mack is a freelance writer who lives in Windham.