Spending time in waiting rooms is disheartening to say the least, which has been my lot the last couple of days. The flip side of this tedium is the 'there-is-nothing-you-can-do-except-a crossword-or-read' time. Waiting for just this sort of moment (or moments- these things never take just a moment) was my languishing copy of Michael Pollan’s book, ‘The Omnivore’s Dilemma’. Languish no longer! It’s time, once again, to summon up your inner food geek. On pages 18-19 Pollan lists the many names for corn. Why should this interest you? Next time you go shopping, read the labels. Ready? Here we go…..
Modified or unmodified starch, glucose syrup, maltodextrin, crystalline fructose, ascorbic acid, lecithin, dextrose, lactic acid, lysine, maltose, HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), MSG (monosodium glutamate), polyols, caramel color, and xanthan gum. And it gets worse, corn is in coffee whitener, Cheez Whiz, frozen yogurt, TV dinners, canned fruit, ketchup, candy, soups, snacks, cake mixes, frosting, gravy, frozen waffles, syrups, hot sauces, mayonnaise, mustard, hot dogs, bologna, margarine, shortening, salad dressings, relishes and vitamins.
Mr. Pollan continues on page 20 to say, “You are what you eat, it’s often said, and if this is true, then what we mostly are is corn-or, more precisely, processed corn.”
Corny-ness can be rather charming in it’s place. This sort of corny seems, well, invasive.
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