They Took the Cocaine from Our Coke—
Will They Now Take the HFCS from Our Food?

igh-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has become an enormous part of the American diet. An estimated 35% of all our sugar intake takes the form of HFCS, up from 1% in 1972. This is compounded with an enormous increase in our overall consumption of sugar, from a per capita average of 90 lbs. per year in 1973 to 170 lbs. per year in 2003. To the extent that American health has gotten worse because of sugar's contribution to obesity, diabetes, etc., HFCS is a major part of that worsening.

In short, a dangerous substance has been insinuated into the American diet, and it's in our interest to see it removed. But we've been through this before: for the first 20 years of its commercial life, Coca-Cola® had a modest quantity of cocaine. Concerns were raised, and the company eventually removed that psychoactive substance from its "stimulating elixir". There are some interesting parallels:

	Cocaine in Coca-Cola®	HFCS in soft drinks
Appearance on Market	1883	1973
Typical Dose ($1 in 2003)	5 milligrams	30 grams
Food Value	None	Minimal
Criminal Aspect	Minimal	None
Psychoactive Aspect	Stimulation, a "pick me up"	Sheer pleasure, a gladdening of spirit
Concerns Raised	1890s	1980s
Contribution to Mortality	c. 100 / year	c. 100,000 / year
Removed from Product(s)	1903