Sweet Surprise Not So Sweet

While reading a copy of Scholastic Parent & Child magazine yesterday, I came across THIS ad defending High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).  The ad labeled Dry Cleaner was the one in the magazine.  Go ahead and open that up - it will pop up in a new window.  You might want to see the ad to understand where I'm coming from. 

I have to tell you that it gets under my skin a little lot.

First of all, I take great offense in that the ad seems to poke fun and assume that as a consumer, I might not be educated enough about what foods to feed my family and that if my advice about food is not coming from my doctor then it is not good advice.   I take a great deal of advice from our doctors.  They are smart people and I trust them.   But I also find value in the advice of trusted friends or people that I do business with like my hairdresser or dry cleaner.  Many of them spend a great deal of time researching what is good to feed their families and they actually see a difference in the health and behavior of their kids by eliminating certain ingredients found in processed foods.  You don't have to be a doctor to know what is healthy for you and your family.  Granted, there is a lot of information out there to sift through which leads me to my second point.

Let's say you are a parent trying to figure out what is good for your kids and you are reading the free magazine that comes home from school with your child.  A magazine that is published by a trusted source such as Scholastic and you see this ad in the Health & Wellness section.    In my opinion,  it sends biased message that says it's okay to feed your child processed sugar.  As a matter of fact, if you go to the website, it will also lead you to believe that a parent should be more interested in caloric intake than the individual ingredients found in our foods.   Yes, I think we should be interested in caloric intake - definitely.  But let's say that I make a granola bar from scratch with honey or an unrefined form of form sugar such as sucanat.   Let's compare it to a granola bar bought in a box with HFCS and other preservatives.   My homemade granola bar may end up having more calories than the one out of the box but mine is also filled with ingredients that are whole, unrefined and assimilated by the body in a healthier way.   In other words, the body uses more energy to process (burns fat) my homemade granola bar and takes from it the natural vitamins that it needs.  Therefore, my higher calorie homemade granola bar is actually a better choice for my kids.     Or take the apple that is full of natural sugar but also fiber and vitamins.  It has lots of calories but it is a much better choice than a few graham crackers with the same amount of calories coming mostly from the processed sugar in them.  And you know what?  I didn't learn that from my doctor. 


When I talk about this ad being a biased message, I am saying this because it is part of a campaign defending High Fructose Corn Syrup sponsored by the Corn Refiners Association.   Do you think that they might have any interest in how the public perceives their product? 


They compare it to regular table sugar - yeah, I'll give them this.  It may not be any worse.   And yes, we should all be watching our sugar intake in all forms.   That is the one positive message coming from this campaign.  We should be eating sugar in moderation. Well, that could be said for all food actually - moderation is the key.  Our portion sizes are huge in this country and has no doubt contributed to the obesity epidemic we face. 

And another thing I saw on the website is the add that says this is a "Schmear" campaign.   By whom?  Moms?   The general public?  Really?

Okay, so what are your thoughts on this?  I'd love to know.  Maybe there is something I am not seeing or getting.   Or maybe you agree with me and have some more points to add to the discussion.

So, let's discuss.