As I drove past the farmers market today, I heard a news report that the Corn Refiners Association is petitioning the FDA to rename high fructose corn syrup to simply “corn sugar.” They claim that it’s “the only way to clear up consumer confusion.”

Does anyone else see the trouble with this proposition? Maybe it’s because I recently watched the documentary Food, Inc, but my sense of awareness regarding the foods we eat has hit an all time high. There are countless injustices in this world that enrage me, but when huge corporations and big government get together to dangerously tamper with a commodity that no one can live without, you get my attention.

Since it burst onto the market in the mid-1970s in products like Coke and Pepsi, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has left a deadly trail. The US readily allows – nay, encourages – putting HFCS in hundreds of food products now and leads the world in the use of this “corn sugar.” And guess what: we’re the fattest, most unhealthy we’ve ever been…the fattest and most unhealthy nation in the world.

Of course, back in the 70s and 80s, HFCS was seen by everyone in the food industry as a way to save money. Good intentions, right? Sure. But now that we know some of the dangers of this corn concoction, does the FDA (a government-run regulation agency meant to protect us) really think it’s a good idea to simply rename one of the most controversial, dangerous and addictive substances in our food today? Really? Come on, FDA, we the people are not that stupid. We get it…corn is the most government subsidized food in the US by a long shot, but can you put your pocketbooks away for a second and actually do something in the interest of the American people just this once?

Renaming HFCS is the absolute wrong move on the part of the FDA. What they need to do is connect the very obvious dots and take this toxic product out of our foods and off the shelves of our grocery stores. Or at the very least, put a cigarette-style warning on every product that contains it. (Warning: you are about to consume a chemically manipulated food that has been linked to cancer, liver disease, and insulin resistance, to name a few.)

But since money and a few big industry voices talk very loudly, that probably won’t happen. So we as consumers, the ones who actually hold the power, need to protect ourselves. We can start by being more aware of the ingredients in our food. One easy way to do this is by eating simple foods. You know, the stuff we ate as kids: apples, bananas, orange slices, almonds, carrots, celery sticks slathered in natural peanut butter, raisins…you get the picture.

We can also make a visit to the farmers market, where we see the faces and shake the hands of the men and women who grow the foods we eat. If you think prices are a problem, just stop by…you might be surprised. Many farmers are even taking food stamps at our local farmers market these days. Fresh food that tastes like home is for everyone – not just the wealthy.

Should the FDA decide to change high fructose corn syrup’s name to corn sugar, attempting to dupe the American public once again, we don’t have to eat it. We can vote with our dollars. We can choose to buy foods without HFCS. In May 2010, Hunts took HFCS out of its ketchup because customers demanded it. If these men and women in the food industry and in our government understand anything at all, it’s money. So lets start speaking their language.

And while we’re at it, let’s take back our table.

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