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As anybody who has been reading Slashfood for a while can attest, one of our collective sore points is the dreaded high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). In general, we tend to blame this dietary crime against humanity on the corn industry, which pushes the vile concoction on us like a particularly unscrupulous crack dealer. However, in the broader scheme of things, it's also worth noting that the corn growers of America share the guilt with several other parties. For example, while they make the dreaded stuff, they don't force manufacturers to use it or consumers to buy it. In a similar vein, nobody is forcing the federal government to subsidize America's corn crop, which makes the stuff unbelievably cheap. Somewhere between the endless struggle to reduce manufacturing costs and the desperate search for less expensive foods, we all have to admit to some level of complicity in this culinary disaster.
With this sort of system-wide perspective in mind, Australia recently revised its national dietary guidelines, stressing greener, more sustainable, and healthier food. In many ways, this represents a concerted effort to change the entire culinary culture of a country, an incredibly ambitious goal. Presumably, as the country reconsiders its standards for growth, harvesting, transport, and consumption of foods, it will become easier for consumer to make healthy, economical, and ethical food choices.
As the land down under moves forward in this quest, hopefully America will follow its lead!
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