March Corn Products Spotlight: Diapers

Where would babies be without corn? This was the article title for one of my most recent discoveries. Each month I research a product that contains corn and publish an informative blog post. Most months I type in a specific product but for March I decided to switch it up, I simply did a Google search for “products that contain corn”. I must admit that the title “Where would babies be without corn?” was not what I was expecting to see at the top of the list. Naturally, I was intrigued by this title and decided to give the article a shot, here is a quick summary of what I learned.

Cornstarch is a mother’s miracle, by this I mean the creation of disposable diapers has saved mothers everywhere countless hours of cleaning cloth diapers. Cornstarch has and incredible ability to absorb liquids and therefore is used in diaper production. The absorbent layer found in modern-day diapers is typically made with acrylic acid. Acrylic acid is a component of ethylene which is a derivative of corn. Cornstarch is not only used in diapers but is usually a main ingredient of baby powder.

You do not have to search hard to find these special corn diapers; in fact you would have to search far and wide to find diapers that don’t contain corn products. The more I have researched corn products the more it has sunk in that we really are living in a world of corn. As for me, I enjoy the common things in life that are made possible by corn. Our country is truly blessed to have hard working farmers and ranchers that provide us with many of the common resources that we often take for granted!

February Corn Spotlight: Insulation

February is traditionally a month of variable weather in the Midwest, and so far that trend has held true this year. This month alone we have gone from being bundled up with our snow boots on, to wearing only a coat in the matter of a week. If it wasn't for the help of insulation our houses would be experiencing the same temperature swings.

In times of extreme weather people often look to their furnace or air conditioner to provide them with comfort and even though these two units play a big part in keeping us comfortable we often forget about the importance of our insulation. Without insulation we would have nothing to keep that energy in. Traditionally insulation has been comprised of foam and fiberglass. However, new technology is proving that corn stalks that are pressed can be used as an effective form of insulation that is considered to be a "green" energy source. Many tests are currently being done on corn insulation to see if it indeed would suffice as a source of insulation. So far, some of the corn insulation assessed properties (ex. density, fire resistance, and durability) show adequacy of this product for building applications, such as a thermal insulation product, a ceiling coating, or a lightweight partition wall.

Corn insulation has also won awards for being a renewable, clean, insulation source. The only problem is not many people know about this product. Grants are being developed that are to be used to promote corn insulation and to draw awareness to its environmental benefits.

So the next time you are putting up that new barn, or remodeling that room you always wanted changed, consider using corn insulation as a cleaner alternative.

November Corn Products Spotlight: Spark Plugs

The days are shorter and the temperatures have started to drop once again in Nebraska; with these changes more Nebraskan’s will be choosing to drive places rather than walk to that café downtown. As most amateur mechanics know, spark plugs are necessary components of your vehicle. Luckily corn farmers work hard every year to grow a crop that helps to provide the public with working spark plugs.

Spark plugs seem like an extremely odd item to find corn used in, but believe it or not, corn is vital in the production process of spark plugs. As most people are aware, corn has a variety of different genomes that can be extracted and used for a variety of purposes. In the case of spark plugs it is not a genome that is used; instead the portion of the kernel needed is the corn starch. In the production process the corn starch is extracted and used to make the unique porcelain used in spark plugs. This form of porcelain is heat resistant and absorbs oils more effectively to help increase the life span of your spark plug. This form of porcelain was not discovered until 1933 and has been continuously improved since then.

So the next time you turn on your car and are heading to your favorite restaurant or are driving to work, be thankful for the farmers who work each season to provide us with products that we take for granted.

October Corn Products Spotlight: Glue

Every project goes smoother with Elmer's!

As we move closer to the holiday season there is one thing that every elementary student will need—that item is glue. Take a second and think back to your younger years, they most likely included paper pumpkins, Thanksgiving turkeys made from a cut out of your hand, and Christmas ornaments decorating the classroom….all of these crafts require glue. What you might not know is that corn is an essential piece of making that glue affordable.

There are a few different types of glue, and after doing some research, I discovered that each type contained corn! To collect all the facts I first started by looking up the official definition of glue. Adhesive; more commonly known as glue, is any substance that binds surfaces together and resists separation. I started thinking about all the different uses for adhesives and then I wondered, where do we get all that resin? As it turns out we don’t use that much resin, instead we use corn.


The process goes like this. After oil is extracted from the corn germ, scientists have found a way to make glue from corn germ. It was first tested in 2008 by chemist Milagros Hojilla-Evangelista. She sprayed the corn germ glue on the surface of a 12X12 inch piece of southern pine and then put another piece of pine on top, heated the glue to industry standards, and waited to see the results. Her findings proved that corn germ could be used to develop glue that has the same viscosity as industrial glue. This discovery has lead to the addition of corn germ to industrial glue which makes industrial adhesives even stronger. It has also been discovered that you can add corn germ to what I would refer to as “regular glue”, more commonly known as Elmer’s Glue, thereby reducing the amount of resin needed in the glue. This means with the addition of corn germ, your glue stays at a lower price.

Chemist Milagros Hojilla-Evangelista.

To wrap up my newly found obsession with adhesive, I will say this. The next time you are out buying a bottle of glue before the school year starts, or even buying certain brands of hair spray, you can thank a farmer for growing a product that helps you cut costs on adhesives.

September Corn Products Spotlight: Corn Board

Well, school is back in full swing and if you spend time on a college campus long enough you are sure to find one thing. That one thing is something that few people have mastered but, many are trying. This item is no longer a bike. This one thing I am talking about is a long board, and surprisingly enough, you can purchase a long board made out of corn wood. Yes, you read right there is such a thing as corn wood.

A company that goes by the name Corn Board Manufacturing, Inc. is the company responsible for this idea. I have done some research on how this mysterious corn wood is made and the answer is from corn stover. Corn stover is an abundant and underused biomass substance that can be pressed into a hard material that is similar to wood. Scientists at the University of Illinois discovered the process of making this product and have now patented the material calling it “Corn Board”.

Corn Board Manufacturing, Inc. is able to make anything out of corn wood instead of plain wood. They make tables, chairs, pallets, the world’s longest long board, you name it! The best part about this company is they realize the environmental advantages corn wood has. One acre of corn uses 8 tons of carbon dioxide in a growing season, so growing corn is an easy way to help reduce the effects of greenhouse gasses. Also by using corn, which grows faster than trees, we are able to save forests.

I have never thought about using a long board as a way of transportation. Mainly because I’m positive I would fall and break something; however, if I was a dare devil I would purchase a corn board long board!

For Nebraska's corn farmers, every day is Earth Day.

For Nebraska's corn farmers, every day is Earth Day.

Nebraska corn farmers have a first-hand understanding of Earth Day. Who else can claim to be an environmentalist, as well as a wildlife, water and soil conservationist while being an economist, weatherman, marketer and communicator?

The recognition of Earth Day should include farmers. While it is a day that was started to inspire awareness and a better appreciation of the environment, it should include the contributions made by farmers every year. 

We are also proud to celebrate Earth Day with ethanol. Another way to participate on Earth Day, that is both environmentally friendly and easier on your wallet, is to fill up your vehicle with a renewable fuel, such as ethanol. Ethanol has been proven to reduce tailpipe carbon monoxide by as much as 30 percent and also reduces particulate matter up to 50 percent. 

We can also celebrate Earth Day with corn-based PLA -- polylactic acid -- because it is clean, green and renewable, and it replaces petroleum-based alternatives. Since PLA is produced from corn at a plant in Blair, Nebraska, it's nice to feature it here from time to time (that's local, folks!). 

Helping American Industry Thrive

We always talk about all the things that we can do with corn . Recently we received the Corn Refiners Association 2012 Annual Report, where we found to have a very interesting article about some interesting uses. The article is title Refined Corn Products: Helping American Industry Thrive written by Richard Kyle. I’m going to share with you a few things that I found interesting in the article!

Most of us never realize that the result of wet corn milling produces products such as corn starch, syrup and oil, which are used as ingredients for many common products. With many industries relying heavily on the corn industry because of its consistent quality and superior performance. Here are just a few of the industries that without their use of refined corn ingredients they would not be nearly as successful.

 

Paper

Starch is one of the most important ingredients in paper. It gives paper it’s smooth feel, strength, brightness, ink adhesion abilities and erasability improvements. It is also very important in the making of recycled paper because of its bonding strength along with more efficient and cleaner manufacturing.

Adhesives

One of the largest markets for starch-based adhesives is the corrugated board industry (cardboard) and paper bag manufacturing. The starch provides strength to the board and forms water resistant bonds. Starch based adhesives are mainly used for carton/case sealing, tube winding, bottle labeling, envelope seams, school pastes, and leather pasting.

Textiles

Starch is used as a protective coating on yard to ensure it can be handled with minimal breaks or shedding. It will also be used as a textile finish to help with crease-resistance or shrink-resistance softness. Most dye pastes also use starch to help with color dispersion, the controlled transfer of designs to the clothe or just for good color value.

Home Improvements

Starch is often used in this industry as a thickener and binder for things such as wall joint compounds, floor leveling compounds, or tile grouts. In foundry, ceramic applications and manufacturing of bricks and tiles, starch and sweeteners will be used as an anti-cracking additive to maintain even distribution of liquids and solids. It helps to reduce brittleness and deformation of the product.

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Oil Refining & Mining

Starch is often used to cool down superheated oil drilling bits or used to improve the efficiency of ore separation processes. Corn-derived ascorbic acid will be used in oil drilling fluids to protect against iron corrosion and prevent the formation of ferric oxide.

Pharmaceuticals

Refined corn products play an ever increasing role in pharmaceuticals. They can be used to enhance drug delivery systems as binders, diluents, tableting agents and coating agents. They can also be ingredients for formulating intravenous injection solutions and clinical nutrition products.

 

These are just a few of the things mentioned in the article. If you would like to read the entire article visit http://www.corn.org/publications/annual-reports and click on “2012 Corn Annual ”.

Video | New uses of corn

Uses for corn stretch beyond the dining table.

Nebraska Corn Board's director of research, Kelly Brunkhorst, shares in this video about all of the different uses for corn. We traditionally think of using corn for livestock feed or to make corn-based ethanol - a renewable fuel.

Kelly explains there are other uses like biochemicals, bioplastics, CO2,  fabrics, sweeteners and more. Click play on the video to watch:

FREEDOM film promotes ethanol

Last week, the screening of the documentary film, FREEDOM, was in Lincoln, sponsored by Green Plains Energy and The Joslyn Institute for Sustainable Communities.

The film focused on the use of ethanol as the most sustainable fuel for transportation –the energy that is in the biggest demand. These important points were covered in the film:

• Ethanol does not require more energy to make than it yields.

Argonne National Laboratory research has shown that corn ethanol delivers a positive energy balance of 8.8 megajoules per liter. The energy balance from second-generation biofuels using cellulosic sources is up to six times better, according to a study published in Biomass and Bioenergy Journal.

• Ethanol does not take food away from humans.

Only 1 percent of all corn grown in this country is eaten by humans as sweet corn. The rest is No. 2 yellow field corn, which is used in animal feed, food supplements and ethanol.

• Ethanol does not emit more greenhouse gases than gasoline.

A 1996 EPA study analyzing sources of air pollution confirmed that gasoline vehicles and non-road equipment are the largest contributors to vehicular gaseous hazardous air pollutants. However, another study showed ethanol reduces tailpipe carbon monoxide as much as 30 percent and tailpipe particulate matter emissions by 50 percent. Also, the Journal of Industrial Ecology at Yale University published a study in 2009 that found that greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by up to 38-59% when using ethanol as a transportation fuel.

• Ethanol can be made from waste.

Cellulosic ethanol can be made from agricultural waste and biomass such as corn cobs and stover, wheat straw, wood, energy crops & even municipal waste.

• Ethanol is cleaner burning.

Compared to gasoline, ethanol reduces every single tailpipe emission (CO; CO₂; smog; particulates; NOx and SOx) because ethanol contains 35% oxygen and results in a higher temperature burn.

• 12 billion gallons of ethanol were produced in Canada and the US in 2010.

This will grow to 36 billon gallons by 2020. Currently, the ethanol industry replaces 364 million barrels of imported oil each and every year in the USA and Canada.

• There are 8 million flex fuel vehicles already on the road, which is 3% of US vehicles.

We’re adding 800,000 to 1 million new flex fuel vehicles each year. There are already over 2,200 E85 and ethanol blender stations with over 60 E85/blender stations per month being installed.

• Ethanol creates jobs and is good for the economy.

A major study by the Windmill Group identifies 645,000 jobs created by ethanol in the USA and $92 billion.
After the film, they had a three-member panel including:

• Todd Becker, CEO of Green Plains
• Cecil Steward, Pres/CEO of The Joslyn Institute
• Lt. Gov Rick Sheehy

There was good discussion and interaction from the attendees. Lt. Gov. Sheehy was first to boast on Nebraska’s great position being the best situated for corn, ethanol and livestock production. The ethanol industry in Nebraska produces 2 billion gallons per year, which escalates into job creation, new technology and co-products to be used by livestock.

The discussion of first-, second- and third-generation biofuels was an important topic and Todd Becker explained how corn’s role is so important in that. In corn-ethanol production, one-third of the kernel is the starch used to make ethanol fuel, one-third is protein that is passed through to use in distillers grains to feed livestock, and the last one-third goes into CO₂. The role of second-generation biofuels comes into play in using the CO₂ to grow algae, for example, which is then able to make food, feed and fuel again.

For more on the film, watch the teaser below or go to www.thefreedomfilm.com.

Corn helping grow a green economy

A great article from Reuters' Christine Stebbins that takes you inside a biorefinery complex in Blair, Nebraska, highlights some of the opportunities of using agriculture products like corn to produce bioplastics and other materials as a way to help reduce our reliance on petroleum. It also highlights some of the many other products that currently come from corn.

Now picture a dozen biorefinery complexes like this throughout the Heartland, all producing renewable products – green products – destined to replace products made from petroleum and provide other renewable products – from enzymes to green chemicals to whatever you can imagine. Can it happen? Will it happen?

Pasted below are a few paragraphs from the article, click through to read the rest.

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From the road, an hour north of Omaha, the giant industrial plant looks like a typical oil refinery, sprawling over more than 600 acres with massive storage drums, miles of piping, clouds of steam and exhaust.

But this refinery is tied more to corn oil than crude oil.

It also presents visitors with an intriguing glimpse into what boosters like President Barack Obama call "the green economy," an industrial base centered on renewable resources like crops and on products like ethanol and biofuels.
...

In one end goes corn -- 100 million bushels a year. Out of the other comes edible corn oil, livestock feeds and ethanol fuel but also a growing array of products fashioned from souped-up corn chemistry, such as industrial enzymes and biodegradable plastics.

"This whole notion of bio-based is that everything that can be made from a petroleum product can now be made from a plant," said Alan Willits, president of Cargill Inc's Corn Milling unit. "The technology is there to enable that."

Willits, taking a reporter around for a rare inside look at the giant Blair corn processing complex, doesn't hide his enthusiasm for the challenge of creating the bioeconomy.

"I'm pretty excited," he says. "I think it is more viable to foresee that you are using agricultural-based products to compete in what was once strictly a petroleum market."

"It is really an exciting thing for agriculture," he said, noting that renewable raw material is a winning message for Cargill's customers, a number of which have constructed plants on Cargill's Blair complex -- like spokes around a wheel.

Mike Lewis, an animal nutritionist at the plant and former professor of animal science at the University of Nebraska, said the Blair complex has "an almost endless capability to make new things ... We can literally take the components apart and put them back together in lots of different ways."

For more, read the full Reuters article.

Popcorn Poppin’ Month

October is National Popcorn Poppin’ Month according to the National Popcorn Board, which makes this a great time to celebrate one of America’s oldest and most beloved snack foods. This year, Americans will consume around 16 billion quarts of popcorn. With popcorn’s “good-for-you” whole grain status, you can take comfort knowing that consuming your share will actually do your body good.

Popcorn is naturally low in fat and calories and because it’s a whole grain, it adds fiber to the diet and boosts energy. And who couldn’t use a little healthy energy boost these days?

Most U.S. popcorn is grown in the Midwest, primarily in Nebraska, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky and Missouri. And wouldn’t you know, Nebraska grows the most! In 2007, Nebraska grew 294,541,958 pounds of popcorn.

Nebraska Corn Growers Association President, Brandon Hunnicutt (@cornfedfarmer), is a farmer from Giltner and raises popcorn, along with other crops. Popcorn is a whole grain, and is made up of three components: the germ, endosperm, and pericarp (also know as the hull). So it looks very similar to regular corn when it's growing, and is harvested just like other types of corn.

 Here are some fun popcorn facts:

• Americans consume some 16 billion quarts of this whole grain, good-for-you treat. That’s 52 quarts per man, woman, and child.
• Compared to most snack foods, popcorn is low in calories. Air-popped popcorn has only 31 calories per cup. Oil-popped is only 55 per cup.
• Popcorn is a type of maize (or corn), a member of the grass family, and is scientifically known as Zea mays everta.
• Of the 6 types of corn—pod, sweet, flour, dent, flint, and popcorn—only popcorn pops.
• Popcorn needs between 13.5-14% moisture to pop. 
• Popcorn differs from other types of corn in that is has a thicker pericarp/hull. The hull allows pressure from the heated water to build and eventually bursts open. The inside starch becomes gelatinous while being heated; when the hull bursts, the gelatinized starch spills out and cools, giving it its familiar popcorn shape.

For more information about Popcorn Poppin’ Month, facts or recipes, visit www.Popcorn.org.

Taste test at Husker Harvest Days: HFCS, cane sugar or stevia?

The good folks at the University of Nebraska's Food Processing Center have a great exhibit at Husker Harvest Days this year. They offer three samples of a sweetened drink – each sweetened differently – and ask tasters to pick their favorite.

After someone tries all three and picks, they are told which sweetener was in their drink of choice – high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), cane sugar or stevia (in this case Cargill's Truvia product). If needed, a bit of education was also provided.

For example, I heard the staff on hand explain that yes, cane sugar and HFCS are exactly the same thing, and that both have the same number of calories. They provided other details and information as necessary – what a great teaching moment!

Laurie Keeler, senior manager for product development with the Food Processing Center, gave me the results from day one of the HHD taste test.

Of those who took the test...drum roll please:

• 46 percent preferred HFCS,
• 39 percent preferred cane sugar, and
• 15 percent preferred Truvia.

Many people had a difficult time choosing between HFCS and cane sugar. Keeler said many people liked them equally but picked one when pressed. (This makes sense considering that a sugar is a sugar.)

She also said corn farmers almost always always chose HFCS, which is interesting. Others who usually chose HFCS were young people, while older people tended to drift towards sugar. Those who were diabetic preferred the Truvia.

For more on HFCS and sugar, check out these previous posts:

• Good report on HFCS
• Bogus Times, Grist articles on HFCS add to echo chamber
• Journal clears the air on HFCS
• High fructose corn syrup gets 'bad rap'
• Websites offer facts on high fructose corn syrup
• HFCS: Spreading truth about sweet side of corn

Turning corn into cups, bags

The headline for this post comes from an article by Ross Boettcher that appeared in the Sunday Omaha World Herald that featured a profile of the NatureWorks plant in Blair – the plant where they turn corn into small, plastic-like beads that are used in everything from chip bags to cups to clothing.

The plant recently added a second manufacturing line so it has the capacity to produce 300 million pounds a year. One bushel of corn produces 22 pounds of the beads, which means the plant can use up to 13.6 million bushels of corn per year.

Here's the intro from the OWH article (read the full article here):

Next time you pick up a bag of Frito-Lay's Sun Chips, you'll notice — or hear — something different about the product's packaging.

Instead of the muffled ruffle of typical chip bags, Frito-Lay's recently deployed package sounds more like hundreds of aluminum cans being squashed under a boot.

There's a reason, and a reward, for the noisy bag. It's fully compostable, thanks to a renewable, plant-based plastic manufactured in Blair, Neb., by NatureWorks, a Cargill subsidiary.

NatureWorks doesn't actually make the Sun Chips bags, which were announced on Earth Day in 2009 and introduced on Earth Day this year.

Instead, the Blair company makes tiny, plasticlike beads from the starch in corn, and then sells them to packaging firms or companies such as Frito-Lay, Coca-Cola, Target and Toyota. Those companies turn the beads, whose trade name is Ingeo, into products like chip bags, plastic drink cups, food containers, floor mats for vehicles and other products normally made with petroleum-based plastics.

For previous posts we've done on these kinds of products made from corn, click on one of the headlines below:

Corn-based PLA turning up in more places

Sun Chips: There's a bit of Nebraska in that compostable bag

You can’t have Christmas without corn!

Your corn is calling

Corn-based PLA turning up in more places

Corn-basd PLA -- polylactic acid -- is clean, green and renewable, and it replaces petroleum-based alternatives. Since PLA is produced from corn at a plant in Blair, Nebraska, it's nice to feature it here from time to time.

Today being Earth Day, it makes sense to feature it again, even though PLA cups were featured yesterday and those snack chip bags a couple of weeks ago. Oh, heck. Just click here for all the PLA posts. (One of my favorites is "Your corn is calling.")

Today's PLA product came as a surprise during a recent trip to the grocery store. We needed some margarine. And there, before my eyes, was Fleischmann's margarine with a tamper band made from EarthFirst PLA. This wasn't hidden or just saying "made with PLA" -- it proudly proclaimed "made from corn."

Sure, there were lots of margarine brands on the shelf.

But can you guess which one found it's way into my basket?

We're seeing PLA turn up in more and more places -- and that's just the beginning of things that can be made from corn and other ag products to replace those currently made from petroleum.

Compostable cups make their way to Nebraska FFA chapters

When FFA chapters from across Nebraska gathered in Lincoln for their convention a couple of weeks ago, many had the opportunity to pick up a case or two of compostable cups courtesy of the Nebraska Corn Board.

The Nebraska Corn Board produced and donated the cups (more than 18,000 in total!) to most FFA chapters in the state, who can then use them for their own annual meetings.

The compostable cups are, of course, made of PLA, or polylactic acid. PLA is produced from corn at a plant in Blair, Nebraska. (Have you seen an ad for compostable snack chip bags? Those are made of PLA, too. Click here!)

This was the first time the board donated PLA cups to the chapters, but it is a great way to reach out to the next generation -- and to their parents and farmers who are involved in FFA.

Distillers grains component may have prospects medical arena

As part of its annual look into corn and distillers grains-related research at the University of Nebraska, the Nebraska Corn Board got a look at the medical opportunities for zein – a protein that is only found in corn.

Zein nanospheres (about 0.001 the thickness of a human hair) are hollow and may be an ideal carrier to deliver cancer-fighting drugs and nutrients to tissues and organs within the human body, according to University of Nebraska researcher Yiqi Yang. The particles are so tiny they can go to the brain and other organs much easier than other medical options, Yang told the Lincoln Journal-Star.

The nanospheres could possibly move into individual cells to deliver treatment and then simply degrade naturally in the body – synthetic alternatives have to be withdrawn. Zein is also naturally fluorescent, meaning doctors could conceivably detect and follow the nanospheres as they deliver their microscopic payload to the body. Synthetic options have to have fluorescence added, which changes their structure.

Zein can be found in corn kernels but it is more concentrated in distillers grains – a co-product of corn ethanol production that is fed to livestock and poultry. That concentrated form makes it easier and more cost effective to remove zein, a yellowish powder, from distillers grains.

Yang told the Journal-Star that should the research be successful, the demand for zein would not really impact the supply of distillers grains for animal feed. Instead, it would be a value-added option for a limited number of ethanol plants.

A sugar is a sugar, whether cane, corn or beet

Consumer questions over high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) have risen lately, as well as confusion of what HFCS really is. CBS Nightly News covered this topic and developed a well-balanced piece that defines the similarities of table sugar and HFCS. (Basically that sugar is sugar.)

The news report touches on how the controversy over HFCS and sugar is all hype.

“The food police - the ones who told us Chinese food and theatre popcorn were bad - would also be yelling about high-fructose corn syrup. But instead, they say the controversy is all hype."

"The evilness of high-fructose corn syrup has become an urban myth," said Michael Jacobson with the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The video that went with the news article is below.



The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) has being doing its job defending HFCS and corn as well. Audrae Erickson, president of CRA, quoted in a recent Wall Street Journal article on sugar, “This is nothing more than a marketing gimmick," referring to packaged-food companies that switch ingredients from HFCS to sugar. “They’ve switched from one sugar to another.”

CRA also has a campaign out to defend corn with great message points that need to be shared with consumers:

HFCS is: 

• A natural sweetener made from corn 
• Handles by the body the same as sugar 
• Has the same number of calories as sugar 
• Is nutritionally the same as sugar 
• Is fine in moderation

For more information about CRA and HFCS, go to SweetSurprise.com.

For more blog posts on HFCS:
You can't have Christmas without corn!
Journal clears the air on high-fructose corn syrup
Websites offer facts on high-fructose corn syrup
High-fructose corn syrup gets bad rap
Podcast: Ag myths abound the popular press and bad TV shows
HFCS: Spreading the truth about the sweet side of corn
Good report on HFCS
Podcast: Some facts about HFCS

Sun Chips: There's a bit of Nebraska in that compostable bag

Have you seen the commercial of the Sun Chips bag breaking down in a compost pile before giving way to a green plant growing above? If so, you've witnessed a bit of Nebraska. (If not, click here, as Frito-Lay has the commercial online.)

How so?

Well, that 100 percent compostable snack-sized bag is made from PLA -- PLA that is produced from corn at the NatureWorks plant in Blair, Nebraska.

PLA stands for polylactic acid, a pretty versatile resin that can be used in everything from gift cards to coffee cups, from packaging to fabrics - and more. All in all, it's a pretty handy polymer that replaces non-renewable, petroleum-based products like polyethylene and polypropylene.

As Frito-Lay noted in materials about the new Sun Chips bag (click here - .pdf):

PLA is made from lactic acid. Lactic acid is made from dextrose by fermentation. Dextrose is made from starch and starch is made from carbon dioxide and water. Because it’s made with plants that grow annually instead of petroleum (which takes millions of years to form) the impact on greenhouse gases is much lower.

NatureWorks LLC has trademarked this material with the name Ingeo(TM), and this new biopolymer is the world’s first and only performance plastic made from 100% annually renewable resources. Corn-based Ingeo biopolymer offers the cost and performance necessary to compete with traditional petroleum–based materials in the packaging and serviceware markets. Frito–Lay has worked closely throughout the packaging supply chain to develop a way to use this material for our package.

The new 100 percent compostable Sun Chips bag are rolling out to stores across the country by the end of April (by Earth Day, as noted in the commercial that aired during the Super Bowl), although existing snack-size bags (10.5 oz) are already one-third PLA, the company said last year.

Early reviews of the bags have been very positive - although some folks say the bags are noisier than the old ones. As the Sun Chips noted in this Twitter post, though, a little noise is a fair trade off for a lot greener package.

For more on PLA:

• You can’t have Christmas without Corn!
• Your corn is calling
• Cups of corn in Indiana's Government Center
• Corn cups for iced coffee
• Film crew coming to Seward

Bogus Times, Grist articles on HFCS add to echo chamber

The Times Online (a paper in the U.K.) last week ran an article that claimed there was new research that "proved for the first time that a cheap form of sugar used in thousands of food products and soft drinks can damage human metabolism and is fueling the obesity crisis."

It then went on to cite this UC Davis study (which was released online in April) and claimed that was proof that fructose and, therefore, HFCS, was out to get us all (even though "fructose" ≠ "HFCS").

However, the reporter (Lois Rogers) got the story wrong - ALL WRONG - and that's according to one of the researchers who conducted the study. (More to come on that in a minute.)

While a single newspaper reporter getting it wrong is one thing, the Internet allowed the story to bloom.

Tom Laskawy, a blogger on Grist (which claims it uses a "Clarity-o-Meter to draw out the real meaning behind green stories") essentially regurgitated the "facts," linking to the Times story as proof (and not bothering to look up the original research). That allowed the anti-HFCS crowd to pick up on it and say: "See this proves we're right." And then repeat it from blog to blog to Twitter and Facebook. 

This is the echo chamber taking over -- with everyone citing everyone else and pointing to the original article that got the facts wrong.

Now about those "facts."

It turns out one of the authors of the original research saw the Times article and Grist blog post and decided enough was enough.

Here is what Dr. Kimber Stanhope had to say:

The information about the UC Davis study came from a Sunday Times article in which almost every sentence in the article contained at least one inaccurate statement. I have copied the sentences that came from this article in quotations below and follow each sentence with the correct information.

You can read her full destruction of the article here.

Among other things, Stanhope points out that the study examined fructose and glucose -- and made it clear that fructose and HFCS are not the same thing. Her response is quite good and worth a read if you happened to see the original Times or Grist garbage article. (I only wish she would have pointed out that HFCS, sugar and honey are essentially the same when it comes to fructose and glucose.)

Anyway, Stanhope's destruction of the original article prompted Laskawy to make a few corrections to his post but, of course, he still had to attempt to argue that the "science" is certainly against HFCS and toss out the expected misinformation and more of his form of "facts." After all, he doesn't want to loose his anti-corn, anti-HFCS, anti-corporate cred.

He also bashed the Times - saying that he'll never cite them again. Hmmm. Perhaps nobody should cite his posts, either.

If you're wondering about Grist, here's a good comment provided by one of the people who commented on the HFCS post:

Grist is full of "experts" posting articles about reports, studies and concepts they know little about. Its really not so much a fact based web site but a site full of speculations fueled by an anti corporate, environmentally correct political set of ideas.

Let's just leave it at that.

Oh, and one more thing to watch. Stanhope noted that she and other researchers are conducting a study comparing the effects of consuming HFCS and fructose at 0, 10, 17.5 and 25 percent of energy requirement in young (18-40 years), normal or overweight (BMI 18-35 kg/m2) adults.

While that may be interesting research, I'm not sure why you'd compare HFCS to straight fructose...they aren't even remotely the same, as Stanhope pointed out. Why not compare HFCS to plain old sugar? Or honey?

In either case, whenever that research is done, don't rely on Grist to get the story right. Grist, a self proclaimed "Beacon in the Smog," just dirties the facts.

You can’t have Christmas without corn!

Do you eat corn for Christmas dinner? Or give it away all wrapped up in pretty wrapping paper? Many may say, “no”, when in actuality, there is a very high chance you will consume corn in one fashion or another during the holiday season.

First, your main dish – maybe a ham or beef roast or lamb. Those hogs, steers and market lambs almost certainly were fed corn and/or distillers grains (a coproduct of ethanol production) and displayed in the grocery store in containers made from corn bioplastics.

Personally, my family eats fish (lutefisk to be exact -- from Sweden). Lutefisk is probably not fed corn as it is from the ocean, but many varieties of farm-raised fish are fed corn or ethanol coproducts, and according to panelists at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR), they concluded that fish filets coming from fish fed byproducts of ethanol production, were great-tasting and a common holiday food.

Next, you may see fresh, frozen or canned corn as the star in many Christmas side dishes. A delicious corn pudding or cheesy corn-and-grits casserole for a Southern-style side, or corn scalloped in a rich creamy sauce could complement your Christmas meal. These are all common ways you may consume corn, but just wait…there is more.
Many of the packaging products used to process or store the food items for your meal are corn plastic called PLA (polylactic acid), which is made from corn starch and is 100% renewable and compostable. Cups, utensils, bowls, plates, deli containers, milk, water and juice bottles, candy wrappers and more all utilize corn PLA. This list goes on and on and new uses are being developed every day.

If you do your shopping at Walmart, you’re more than likely going to find PLA as well. Wal-Mart plans to use 114 million PLA containers a year, which company executives estimate will save 800,000 barrels of oil annually.

What about other corn products? High fructose corn syrup is found in your soda pop and many other products as a sweetener, cornstarch is found in pudding and ready-to-eat foods, dextrose improves the color and texture of breads and is found in peanut butter and sorbitol, which is used in the toothpaste you’ll need after eating your big meal and holiday snacks! Maltodextrin, another corn product, is found in instant tea, coffee and oatmeal.

After you’ve enjoyed your scrumptious Christmas meal, everyone knows what’s next…PRESENTS! Many gifts are made from corn PLA, instead of plastic made from oil, and even wrapped in paper made from PLA. iTunes or REI gift cards, Cargo Cosmetics packaging, batteries for the remote control cars, crayons, medicines, disposable diapers and baby wipes and adhesives all have corn as an ingredient in one way or another. That Samsung Reclaim cell phone you got for your significant other, is, in fact, a 'green' phone made from corn PLA bioplastics.

Corn-based clothing is also catching on, and can be found in upholstery, bedding, pillows, and high-end fashion fabrics. Even your carpet that is getting covered up by all of the opened presents and shredded wrapping paper could be made from corn-based polymers which are stain resistant and incredibly durable.

You Nebraskans want to know the best part?! Most of these PLA products have their roots right here in the state with Nebraska corn. NatureWorks, located in Blair, and owned by Cargill Dow, has created an environmentally friendly material that reaches the consumer in food packaging, cold drinking cups, duvets, pillows, blankets and even clothing. These products are environmentally friendly and are 100% renewable. The Blair plant uses more than 40,000 bushels of corn every day in the production of PLA (see here).

The Nebraska Corn Board produced a brochure a couple of years ago that highlights all of these and the many other uses of corn. To have a look, click here to download the .pdf file. Or click here to read about more PLA uses in Nebraska.

This holiday season check your labels and purchase products containing corn. This is the environmentally friendly choice, as well as helping out the Nebraska economy.

Have a very, Merry Christmas from the Nebraska Corn Board and staff!