I watched the film, Food Inc., recently and was horrified to discover that 90% of my diet contains corn or one of its byproducts. I was upset that my country has allowed one type of agricultural product to secretly dominate American cuisine and to have such a profound influence on my personal diet.
After seeing the film, I began doing my own independent research to verify this claim. The more I read, the more I was outraged. According to the website article A Zillion ? Uses for Corn, did you know that “of 10,000 items in a typical grocery store, how many would you guess contain corn in one form or another? Answer: At least 2,500 items use corn in some form during the production or processing.” (http://www.ontariocorn.org/classroom/products.html)
Based on my reaction to Food Inc. and my own research, I decided I needed to do something drastic. Thus, I am going to attempt to go on a corn free diet from November 29, 2009 until December 25, 2009. This experiment will, therefore, be 27 days long. I felt this is the perfect challenge to flirt with a life independent from the main ingredient in American industrial food.
The Diet: No processed foods that include corn e.g. very few places to eat out, no more fancy Aviation cocktails with Crème de Violette, and only grass fed or wild animals and fish. I also live ‘kosher style’ meaning this experiment will not include pork or selfish. Plus I am lactose intolerant, so many food challenges will involve me figuring out how to navigate this diet honoring a low lactose intake.
Disclaimer: I will not avoid medications, vitamins, or toothpaste that might be made with corn byproducts. I am focusing on my main food consumption only. I am also not a doctor nor am I allergic to corn thus no postings on this site should be seen or understood as medical advice to anyone allergic to corn.
Why Blog? I decided soon after beginning this challenge and discussing it with close friends that others might find this experiment interesting.
What will be included in this blog? I will post general discoveries during my 27-day quest to live corn free. This will include reposting educational materials, pictures of meals eaten, a daily food log, recipes created as a result of this challenge, and, at times, my frustrations with this project.
Step 1: Familiarize myself with different corn byproducts so I can efficiently read labels when shopping.
http://www.ontariocorn.org/classroom/products.html
http://www.vishniac.com/ephraim/corn-bother.html
http://www.vishniac.com/ephraim/corn-bother.html
Step 2: Empty fridge of food with corn or byproducts.
Step 3: Begin the challenge!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment