this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2023
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Food and Cooking

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What the U.S. could learn from Japan about making healthy living easier (www.npr.org)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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The emphasis on fresh high-quality food made me wonder if that sort of food is more satisfying (and filling) than what the author sees in American food. Does eating poor quality food leave you hungry? (Also, consider people living in “grocery deserts” who subsist on large amounts of fast food. Their obesity rates are very high.)

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Per the USDA, here's what corn is used for in the US:

  • 1/3 goes to feeding livestock
  • 1/3 is used for ethanol which is added to car fuel
  • "The rest of the corn crop is used for human food, beverages, and industrial uses in the U.S., or exported to other countries for food or feed use. Corn has hundreds of uses. It is used to make breakfast cereal, tortilla chips, grits, canned beer, soda, cooking oil, and bio-degradable packing materials. It’s the key ingredient in the growing medium for life-saving medicines including penicillin. Corn gluten meal is used on flower beds to prevent weeds."

https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2019/07/29/corn-americas-largest-crop-2019

I'm sure a lot of it is used for corn syrup but it appears to be far from the majority. Mostly animal feed (which in turn becomes things like beef and milk) and fuel.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Thanks for the info!

Nevermind on the maize thing then. Perhaps reducing the subsidies might be sensible for other reasons, but odds are that it won't affect health concerns.