Didn't Think You Ordered Corn?

Harvesting corn grain in Auburn, Illinois.

Photo: AP Photo / Seth Perlman

related articles

It's been documented by food expert Michael Pollan and in the film King Corn, and now we get another reminder that when you're eating fast food, it all goes back to the yellow veggie.

Scientists from the University of Hawaii tested fast food items and found traces of the corn used for the animals' feed and the nitrogen used as fertilizer in their test samples, according to the Des Moines Register.

Hope Jahren, lead author of the study, is quoted in the article: "If you put any money into fast food, it all goes back to corn, everything. The first step to making hamburgers is making an ear of corn."

The beef in the burgers and all of the chicken tested contained levels of a carbon isotope that proves that animal was fed corn before it became an item on the dollar menu, according to the article.

The article also says that a nitrogen isotope found in the meat comes from the fertilizer and suggests that the animals were raised in confined conditions.

And don't think those fries are innocent; the study showed most were probably fried in corn oil. Sodas weren't tested in the study, but they contain high fructose corn syrup, which, yes, originates from corn.

In the article the scientists said consumers deserve to know about the source of their food, and the environmental concerns around growing corn, which requires large amounts of fertilizer that can run off fields and pollute waterways.

COMMENTS ()