Eating Challenge Talkback
Read about the Indie Lens Web team's challenge experiences and get recipes and tips >>
The Independent Lens Web team challenges you to go corn free! Read labels, check out a list of ingredients of additives and products that contain corn, do a little research and see if you can keep corn out of your life for just 24 hours. We bet that if you try it, you'll be forever convinced that corn truly is king.
Tell us how you did >>
Submissions will be posted here regularly, so visit again to read more.
My son has a fairly monior corn allergy, but a HUGE soy allergy-so soy is usually what we are looking out for more than anything. One of the best things we have found is a product line called "ENJOY LIFE", they are 100% free of ALL common allergens, including corn. And most of there products taste awesome. Of course they are pricey, but worth it when you are in a pinch and making things from scratch can't fit into that day's schedule.
I think that, when considering the surge in corn allergies, we should look very closely at the fact that MOST corn in the US is genetically modified. Changing the DNA in a living thing will always cause it to interact differently with other living things. Corn did not cause so many problems in the last century as it does now with the introduction of GM.
We have been avoiding it outright for my son for over 3 years, now. For everyone else, we only accept it if organic. I'm going to set up the whole family to eat corn free for a week or more and see how it goes. My 245 lb, bodybuilding hubby is going to LOVE this! I'll share the results...
We have been CORN, gluten, soy, dairy (cow's) and vinegar free for 7 months due to the discovery of these as food & topical allergens to myself & 4 year old son. Let me tell you, that the corn allergy has by FAR been the most frustrating to deal with, mainly because of the multitude of products it is processed into that are not required by the FDA's Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 to be disclosed. Even if soy was not on the most common allergen list, I have found 15 or so alternate names for soy or soy containing products. Corn, on the other hand, has close to 200 different names/food containing items that need to be watched out for. This is staggering! People who think they are avoiding corn 100% really are not. You have to think about avoiding corn topically as well: xanthan gum & other corn products are in a ton of skin/hair care items & this is absorbed through the skin. Even toilet paper! Our family has to avoid such items as yeast, Vitamin C, lactic acid, citric acid, even BOTTLED WATER to name a microscopic few! Check your canned goods, jams, jellies etc. They almost all contain citric acid. Lunch meats etc. almost always contain lactic acid not to mention the animal has been fed corn as well. Yeast is almost always fed corn syrup to promote growth, so alcohol is totally out. Bottled water prepared by reverse osmosis & fortified with minerals can contain corn (found this out the HARD way!) In my research, even organic or health conscious companies almost always use lactic & citric acid derived from corn, even egg replacer! Why? Because it is CHEAP! Now I make everything from scratch, bread, mayonnaise, ketchup to name a few. We only eat it if it's wild caught, grass fed, free range, or organically grown. What a pain you say? It is totally worth it! ALL my health problems have completely disappeared & my son's behavior has been a complete 180. I attribute it all to diet! What is angering is the expense to eat healthy, and the continued government subsidy of corn will keep it that way.
I've been 100% corn free for over a year now and it IS rough but life does feel healthier now! My daughter is 18 months old and I am breast feeding her. She is allergic to corn and a slew of other things, and she reacts through my milk so I have to be corn free as well. We've adapted, and I've lost a lot of weight, and it's nice to eat nothing processed. I do miss going out to eat though. However I've learned all sorts of things like how to make my own ketchup and my own marshmallows. It's been an interesting ride, that's for sure.
I found this challnege to be extrememly difficult eventhough I am vegan. I never realized just how much impact cron has on my diet
This was really tough! I'm hungry because all I've eaten in the last day is apples, oranges, and tuna.
My struggle to go a day without corn had one simple solution, drink only water and accept a day of eating without much eating. But then I realized for me to function, much food is required. Lucky for me I needed to the grocery store anyway so I figured I might as well see if there are some big meals I can eat without corn. Lucky for me I stumbled across a pizza, Amy's Cheese Pizza, which as far as I know does not contain corn. One big meal down, one smaller one to go. Searching in the pasta section, I found a pasta, DaVinci Organic Pasta, which claimed to not contain corn. So I thought I was set and that I was the actual King of Corn, but then I made the pasta and mistakenly added pasta sauce which contained corn. One meal away and I fell short, thanks corn.
I recently made the attempt to not consume corn for one day and found the process to be much more difficult than I had anticipated. I found myself limited to only fruits, vegetables, and water. I enjoy most fruits and vegetables, but the exclusion of a number of different foods left me irritable. I eat a lot of meat in my diet and to go without was a challenge even for only one day. I also found that when eating a majority of the vegetables I like to consume the complimentary dressings and such were unavailable to me. It is interesting how big of a role corn plays in most Americans diet.
It seems like the foods that have no corn added to them taste like crap. And not eating bread at every meal was real tough.
Doing the corn challenge for 24 hours was not particularly difficult. I just did not eat very much for one day. My diet consisted almost entirely of fruit. I ate a few oranges, some apples, drank some orange juice, and drank a lot water. I did eat some mixed nuts too. My plan for breakfast had been drinking a large glass of soy milk. Unfortunately, the fructose listed in the ingredients meant even the soy milk could not be trusted. 24 hours is a short enough period of time that one could pretty easily get away with not eating anything at all (making avoiding corn much easier). A longer time period definitely would have been a challenge. Corn really is everywhere. I would not want to try this for a full month.
Wow! I was recently made aware of this corn challenge and the idea of corn as king. As I began to look more closely at my daily diet I was amazed to see how much corn I was taking in and realized that it had to stop, or corn would truly be the ruler of my life. I also looked at the problem through a wider lens and realized how ridiculous our cultural dependence on corn is. How can we stop this take over of corn? Simple: corntraceptives.
I have recently endeavored in taking on the challenge of not eating corn for at least 24 hours. Throughout the process I found that it is quite difficult to find items at my grocery store that did not have corn or corn additives in their ingredients list. It is quite interesting to think about this corn culture that we live in, and the implications of having such a lack of diversity within our regular diets.
I began this endeavor very skeptic, I mean really? Is my staple diet really corn? So I went on to analyze first what was my diet. I looked around what I had at my house, and sure enough, my cereals, pasta, bread, peanut butter! And more were all in some way processed or made with corn. So I called up Dylan Lukes, a fellow class mate. And at about 10 PM on Saturday we took our lists of things that could contain corn, found on the website, and explored wall mart so that we could eat. We found that our diet without corn would have to consist largely of fruits and vegetables, organic foods, and probably most of all, potatoes. So I decided to put the two pounds of spaghetti that I make during the weekend to eat for the next week, on the shelf. This morning I ate some red pepper, mushrooms, and onions, and BEHOLD POTATOES! I can’t imagine I would survive if I could not eat corn or potatoes… maybe I am not being creative enough. Regardless, I sustained my diet with fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as potatoes. Marinating them with H2O, instead of my usual canola oil. I missed the taste, but I did create a sustainable, nutritious diet, which I don’t prefer, but am willing to do! Like I said the biggest shock value was probably being unable to find anything but fresh produce and fruits in wall mart that did not contain corn. Then in my frustration I asked Dylan if toilet paper had any corn in it? Then I laughed to myself and said, “Here’s a philosophical question for you, if you eat toilet paper, do you have to wipe when it comes out?” I hope you found that as cleaver as I did. My experience was interesting, inconvenient and inventive. I am glad I did it, and I am more aware of my utter dependence on corn for the tasty food my fatty American taste buds crave.
Hey you guy think it was hard on you try being 6 and doing it. I was removed from public school missing 32 days in my first nine weeks. Kids eating corn puffs for their breakfast and wiping their hands on their shirts. Made my eyes and throat swell. I cant go shopping if the store has popcorn it makes me sick. Meat that has eaten corn is a no-no. But its okay God has a plan for me. I just wanted to say thank you for making the world see CORN is hard to avoid.
I, too, have a corn allergy, among other allergies. It has to be one of the most debilitating conditions you could have in modern society, because you can't eat out thanks to hidden corn, you can't go to movie theaters thanks to the corn aroma, and everything you eat has to be home made. It really, really sucks, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
We were in Europe when we first learned not everyone eats corn, we were laughed at that there was even a sugestion that people eat corn, "corn is for animals only". After when we returned home we rented King Corn... We have all but removed corn out of our kitchen. We shop at Whole foods and I home make everything, breads, pastas, soups exc. Our meat is free range, 7% feed fed. Guess they do that the last month but cattle are still roaming this is according to our whole foods butcher. We eat meat only once to twice a week to lower our corn intake. Still looking for a farmer that only grass feeds. Our complexions are amazingly better, we look healthier, this is a must for everyone! We feel so much better. I have learned so much about corn, how it is dammaging our enviorment, everyone should read The Omnivore's Dilemma, it is a long book but you will learn lots!
Like so many others, I try to live corn-free every day. I, too, am allergic to corn. I've known about this allergy over 20 years and have always found it difficult to avoid corn. It hides everywhere, even on envelopes (to keep the glue from sticking before you want it to) to paper plates (also keeps them from sticking together. Most alcoholic beverages made in the US contain some kind of corn or dextrose (made from corn).
There are ways to avoid it, though. There are brands of foods at health food stores...boxed, canned and frozen...that are corn free. It gets expensive at times, but it's better than getting a allergy reaction!
The hardest part is eating out. Often it's trial and error to see what turns out to cause a reaction and what doesn't. I have found most places are quite willing to accommodate you if you tell them you have an allergy. Many have ingredient listings you can look at, either at the restaurant or online.
It's amazing how my friends and relatives are shocked to find the word "corn" in nearly everything they have in their cabinets and pantries. Most people have no idea how many things it is in, and could never go a week, let alone 20 years, without eating it.
Not only do I eat corn free most of the time, but I also generally do without wheat and soy as well. Why? Because I had an eye-opening experience some years ago. I was in my mid-thirties and I felt worse than I had ever felt in my life. Doctors had been telling me to go on medication for anxiety for years. I had held off because I didn't want to go the pharmaceutical route. I kept seeing practitioners and hoping for a "cure". What I found is that the "foods" I was eating were making me sick. I thought I was eating healthy, but as it turns out I was eating many processed and packaged foods. I know now, just because something tells you it is organic, does not necessarily mean it is healthy! One day, a practitioner I had been seeing said to me, "Raine, why don't you try cutting wheat out of your diet. And while you're at it, soy, dairy, and corn." I stood before her in absolute astonishment. Could she be serious? "I can't!" I replied. She smiled and said, "Why not?" The words rung through my ears and I thought about it. "You've been told that all this stuff you're eating is food, and you've been doing it for years. It's time to learn the truth and find out what real food is." I did a candida cleanse for 12 weeks, where I ate nothing but selected fruits, and all the vegetables, meat, and fish I wanted. It was difficult, but by the end I was feeling so much better and possessed an entirely new outlook on food and eating. I had also followed the advice of other practitioners with whole-food, organic supplements, stress-relief, and exercise. Things were turning around like I had never imagined. I was so inspired by how this was positively affecting me and my family, I was driven to create the web site Agriculture Society where I write articles about sustainable ways to live, natural health, and real nutrition through whole foods. I have never looked back. I saw your movie last week, and I have been practicing a corn, soy, and wheat-free existence for over a year now. I feel fantastic! Thanks for your hard work on this film and getting the word out to people who have been in the dark so long. Please visit my web site, www.agriculturesociety.com. It has some important things to say!
-Raine Saunders
www.agriculturesociety.com
We did it for 3 years. I'm so glad my child outgrew his corn allergy! Lo and behold though, I found out I am allergic to it!
It was a bit of trouble, we did get used to it, but the hardest part was maintaining social norms. (somehow restaurant food was impossible, even Fresh Choice the salad bar place didn't work out, seems like you know what you are getting but you don't)
Actually our kids food allergies are mild and I do appreciate the aspect that they help maintain a "polite" way to refuse so much of the junk they are offered.
We are lucky to live in an area with specialty stores, CSAs and Farmer's Markets.
I watched the King of Corn 2 and a half months ago, and stopped ingesting high fructose corn syrup foods. In 67 days, I lost 30 pounds. Now it is difficult to eat things that are over sweetened. I actually have more energy now.
Observant Jews go 1 week without corn every year. It's called Passover. If you stock up on Kosher for Passover foods in April, you can cut the corn in your diet. Even Coke comes without corn syrup
In my previous post I forgot to mention that coffee, rice, soymilk, etc. are not corn free unless you confirm with the manufacturer. Coffee and rice use a corn based substance to prevent clumping.
Soymilk containers are corny - whether with cornstarch or corn paper/plastic. If it contained any vitamin additives whatsoever, it had corn in it. Unless you are buying your produce from a farmer's market, it will either have a corn-based wax or, less likely, beeswax on it to preserve freshness.
Corn does not need to be labeled if it is not a "major" part of the product. Check out the Corn Avoiders list on Delphi Forums if you want to know what it really means when you have to avoid corn to live.
I am corn free because I am allergic to corn. I have been eating corn free since 1998. It has gotten harder each and every year. You have a choice. Some of us don't.
I did it for a day, and it wasn't really a problem as, much like Richard, I mostly ate whole foods. Eating out, however, raised questions. I blogged about it here: http://foodperson.com/2008/04/18/corn-free/
My two young children have been 100% corn-free for over a year. This means checking the lunch meat for dextrose, having all medicines compounded, and not eating any of the cute packaged snacks their friends have. Food at our house is home-made. It's harder, yes, but don't think they really miss it. (I occasionally indulge in some popcorn when they are in bed, though!) For our family, no corn means better behavior, better skin, and better sleep.
I eat corn-free practically every day. Ninety percent of my food comes directly from farmers. I rarely have to read ingredient labels, since whole foods rarely have other ingredients. My beef, chicken, pork, milk, and cheese is derived from 100% grass-fed, free range animals. I don't eat processed food and I cook all of my meals.
I participated in the corn challenge for a mere 5 days before migraines and hunger took over.
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