Is HFCS use ethical?
Ethics Brief
MGMT 567
Is HFCS Really that sweet?
Corn is among the most planted and produced crops in the US. According to 2013 statistics, the US is the largest corn producer in the world with 80 million acres of corn fields and almost $64 billion annual sales. Besides its consumption as raw food, industrial processing of corn yields high economic value. Among industrial uses of corn, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is the most controversial one from an ethics perspective. HFCS is an artificial sweetener that is found in a wide range of processed foods. It is produced by applying enzymatic processes to convert corn’s glucose into fructose. HCFS is used as a sweetener in various foods and beverages such as yogurts, breakfast bars, cereals, breads, soups, lunch meats, and soft drinks. Since 1970s, it has become the most economical alternative to cane sugar and replaced most of its use as an industrial sweetener. Due to quotas on domestic increased tariffs on sugar imports, the US has the highest price for sugar around the world while government subsidies to corn production make HFCS a much cheaper alternative to sugar. Moreover, HFCS is easy to transport, %20 sweeter than table sugar, and extends the shelf life of products. As a result, HFCS has become a major substitute for cane sugar for the U.S industry such that soft drink giants like Coke and Pepsi use HFCS in their products instead of sugar since 1984. Despite its economic value, HFCS is shown to be related to obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and fatty liver disease. This paper examines the ethical issues of HFCS use in foods and beverages.
Although HFCS was classified generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1976, a Princeton University research team demonstrated that sweeteners have different effects on human and animals such that HFCS leads to higher weight gains compared to sugar with same calories. Also, a 2009 study from the University of California,
MGMT 567
Is HFCS Really that sweet?
Corn is among the most planted and produced crops in the US. According to 2013 statistics, the US is the largest corn producer in the world with 80 million acres of corn fields and almost $64 billion annual sales. Besides its consumption as raw food, industrial processing of corn yields high economic value. Among industrial uses of corn, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is the most controversial one from an ethics perspective. HFCS is an artificial sweetener that is found in a wide range of processed foods. It is produced by applying enzymatic processes to convert corn’s glucose into fructose. HCFS is used as a sweetener in various foods and beverages such as yogurts, breakfast bars, cereals, breads, soups, lunch meats, and soft drinks. Since 1970s, it has become the most economical alternative to cane sugar and replaced most of its use as an industrial sweetener. Due to quotas on domestic increased tariffs on sugar imports, the US has the highest price for sugar around the world while government subsidies to corn production make HFCS a much cheaper alternative to sugar. Moreover, HFCS is easy to transport, %20 sweeter than table sugar, and extends the shelf life of products. As a result, HFCS has become a major substitute for cane sugar for the U.S industry such that soft drink giants like Coke and Pepsi use HFCS in their products instead of sugar since 1984. Despite its economic value, HFCS is shown to be related to obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and fatty liver disease. This paper examines the ethical issues of HFCS use in foods and beverages.
Although HFCS was classified generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1976, a Princeton University research team demonstrated that sweeteners have different effects on human and animals such that HFCS leads to higher weight gains compared to sugar with same calories. Also, a 2009 study from the University of California,