By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Nutritionists say the removal of high-fructose corn syrup is for our own good. Health care professionals say the use of the corn syrup leads to obesity. But corn growers say the removal of the high-fructose corn syrup from consumer products will highly threaten their livelihoods.

“Farmers are very concerned,” said Fred Yoder, who ships 80 percent of his corn directly to a corn-sweetener refinery. “Farmers lose and so do consumers because food costs could go up 20 to 30 percent if they continue to switch from high-fructose corn syrup.”
Last year, 41 new soft drinks and energy drinks were introduced, proclaiming they contained no high-fructose corn syrup. Earlier this year PepsiCo Inc. removed all high-fructose corn syrup from sports drink Gatorade and replaced it with cane sugar. Just last month ConAgra Foods Inc. removed high-fructose corn syrup from its Hunt’s brand ketchup.

And the list is growing. Kraft now sells Wheat Thins without high-fructose corn syrup and Starbucks baked goods no longer contain the sweetener. High-fructose corn syrup is no longer found in Snapple drinks.

Ohio is the nation’s No. 7 grower of corn, and much of that is refined into corn syrup. According to Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohio produces $2.1 billion worth of corn (3.85 million acres). Many worry that 1,700 corn-refining employees and 2,500 corn farmers in the state will be decimated if food producers continue to shy away from high-fructose corn syrup.

“Because the corn-sweetener market is such a prominent part of the Ohio corn industry, it would be a devastating blow to the Ohio corn market,” Yoder said. “The corn-sweetener refinery market is the most desirable and profitable market in Ohio.”

Iowa corn growers would feel the pinch the most. Iowa ranks first in corn production (18 percent). Illinois ranks second (17 percent), followed by Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana (7.5 percent), South Dakota and Ohio (4.1 percent).

The use of sweeteners found in most soft drinks and other products dropped 11 percent between 2003 and 2008.

Many blame the consumer for the drop since most consumers are health-conscious and concerned about health threat in foods.
In the end, consumers must decide whom to believe: the nutritionists and dieticians, who say that high-fructose corn syrup contributes to the world’s obesity problem, or The American Medical Assoc., which states that high-fructose corn syrup is no worse than sugar or other sweeteners.

John Davis, president of the board of directors for the Ohio Corn Growers Association, said he thinks consumers’ fears are based on misconceptions. Davis said the companies are not basing their decisions on scientific facts but “on what certain activist groups are telling them about the issue.”

“When times are as tough as they are today it makes it harder for farmers to survive,” Davis said.

Other market options for corn growers include ethanol production, feeding livestock or food production.