This chapter revolves around the processing of corn which makes this vegetable (or derivative of corn) part of almost every processed food around us. Pollen describes the whole transformation which is comprised of many steps and takes place in what is know as a "wet mill". The corn is first subdivided into kernels. Its skin will be processed into vitamins and nutritional elements while the tiny germ will be crushed for its oil. The biggest section of the kernel, the endosperm, will have its rich complex carbohydrates extracted from it, the most important contributor to processed food. The idea is that these long carbohydrates are very polyvalent because chemist have learned to break them down into more than a hundred different organic compounds such as acids, sugars, starch and alcohols. The most valuable product derived from corn is definitely high-fructose corn syrop, accounting for 530 million bushels every year. With those essential building blocks coming from corn (and soybean), a food scientist can basically create almost any processed food he can think of.
Processed food has truly become a supply-driven business. In order to stay in business, companies will either have to figure out how to make us spend more money for the same pound of food we will buy, or make us eat more. This really bothers me because these companies are solely looking for profit instead of the good of the population. These food contain so much fat and sugar that it is sickening everyone. No wonder three out of five American is now considered overweight. It's true that processed food still have advantages like adding shelf-life and more practical packaging than whole food but I really do not agree that we should depend that extensively on fast food and processed food. I just think that overall these companies are modifying the way we eat in order to put money in their pockets which is destructive to our health. So what can we do about it? If we go back to the root of the problem, we will see that again, everything comes from the cheap price of corn. It is the subsidies on corn created by the government which is problematic. So then, what would be the effects of modifying those subsidies? Would it alleviate the problem or instead collapse our economic system?
I agree that the business aspect of processed food is frightening. People all over America are struggling to combat obesity and type II Diabetes because business executives want to make a profit. In my opinion, that certainly is not acceptable.
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