Eating Corn

I'm reading a fascinating science/culinary/sociological book right now by Michael Pollan: The Omnivore's Dilemma. Here, Pollan offers us a fascinating study of the American diet . . . the stuff you and I put into our bodies every day, without stopping to think about what we are really eating.

As it turns out, most of what you and I consume is corn. In fact, about 1/2 of all the calories you and I consume every day comes from the cornfields of Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois and Indiana. Corn is in most every food sitting on the supermarket shelf--most certainly anything that is packaged, bottled, canned, or wrapped. We just don't think about it that way.

For example, here's a breakdown in calories of the typical lunch from McDonolds (almost all corn): Soda (100% corn calories from corn syrup), milk shake (78% corn); salad dressings (65% corn calories); chicken nuggets (56% corn calories from corn oil, corn starch, and not to mention the corn the chickens ate to become chicken); cheeseburger (52% corn calories. How? From the ketchup, mustard, bun...which is almost all corn calories); French fries (23% corn calories from the corn oil they are fried in).

See what Pollan is getting at? Corn everywhere.

And, since I'm eating and drinking all of this corn everyday in my donuts, bread, soft drinks, bottled teas, and processed foods, it makes me wonder: why in the world would I ever actually eat CORN or corn on the cob or corn out of a can? Our bodies, just like the cows, chickens, swine and turkeys we eat, are essentially corn-fed protein and are remarkably different than the beef, chicken, pork and turkey our grandparents' generation enjoyed. In fact, none of these meats taste the same as they did just a generation ago. We just think they taste the same, but what we are really enjoying is the corn.

Wow . . . all of this talk is making me hungry. What's for lunch? Think I'll fix some popcorn and wash it down with a soft drink. (Total calories from CORN . . . 100%.)